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.! •. 




“HE’S GOING TO KEEP THAT MONEY,’’ SPRANG TO HARRY’S 

MIND. 

Harry Harding — "Messenger 45” Page 226 


HARRY HARDING 

—Messenger ‘V5 ” 

By 

ALFRED RAYMOND 

Illustrations by 

R. EMMET OWEN 


NEW YORK 

CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY 






Copyright, 1917, by 
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY 



APR -4 1917 

©C1.A457'78S 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER page 

I A Menace to the School 1 

II On the Trail of a Job 9 

III An Anxious Moment 27 

IV A Surprise and a Disappointment . . 37 

V Friends and Foes 51 

VI At the End op the Day 67 

VII Teddy Comes Into His Own .... 75 

VIII The Recruits to Company A . , . . 81 

IX The Bitterness of Injustice .... 95 

X Breakers Ahead for Harry . . . 105 
XI Teddy Burke Distinguishes Himself 116 
XII A Disastrous Combat 122 

XIII The Measure of a Man 129 

XIV The Price of Honesty 138 

XV A Fateful Game of Catch .... 148 

XVI All in the Day’s Work ..... 158 
XVII The Singer and the Song .... 169 

XVIII Confidences 178 

XIX The Belated Dawn 185 

V 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XX Teddy’s Triumph 191 

XXI Getting Even with the Gobbler . . 202 

XXII A Disturbing Conversation .... 213 

XXIII Harry Pays His Debt 224 

XXIV Writing the Welcome Address . . . 239 

XXV Commencement 250 


1 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

O 

PAGE 

going to keep that money/ ^ sprang into 
Harry’s mind. {Bee page 226) Frontispiece ^ 

*‘What is the matter here, Ted?” 62 

His shield came in violent contact with some- 
thing moving 124 V' 

gave this boy a twenty-dollar note to take 
over to Miss Exley to change” 187^ 



HARRY HARDING 

Messenger 

CHAPTER I 

▲ MENACE TO THE SCHOOL 

UJ WILL drown and no one shall help me/’ 
I announced Miss Alton defiantly. 

The first class in English accepted this 
remarkable statement in absolute silence, their 
eyes fixed on their teacher. As she stood high 
and dry on the platform, facing her class, there 
seemed little possibility of such a catastrophe 
overtaking her, therefore, they knitted their 
wise young brows, not in fear of her demise by 
drowning, but in puzzled worry over the intri- 
cacies of shall and will. 

will drown,” repeated Miss Alton firmly, 
‘‘and no one ” 

“Oh-h-h!” a piercing shriek rent the gram- 
mar-laden air. As though about to prove her 
declaration. Miss Alton made a sudden dive off 
the platform that carried her half-way up an 


2 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


aisle toward the immediate vicinity of that an- 
guished voice. 

The first class in grammar immediately for- 
got the nses of shall and will and twisted about 
on their benches to view their teacher ’s hurried 
progress toward the scene of action. 

‘‘It’s Teddy Burke,” muttered a boy to his 
nearest classmate. “Wonder what he’s done.” 

Miss Alton had now brought up between two 
seats at the rear of the room. In one of them 
sat a little girl, her head buried in her arms. 
Directly opposite her sat a red-haired boy. His 
thin face wore an expression of deep disgust, 
but his big black eyes were dancing with mis- 
chief. As the teacher approached, he made an 
ineffectual dive toward a grayish object on the 
floor. Miss Alton was too quick for him. She 
stooped, uttered a half-horrified exclamation, 
then gathered the object in. It was a most ter- 
rifying imitation of a snake, made of rubber,^ 
and coiled realistically. 

“Theodore Burke, what does this mean?” 
she demanded, holding out th« snake and glar- 
ing at the offender. 

The little girl raised her head from her arms 
and eyed the culprit with reproachful horror. 
“He put it on my seat,” she accused. “I 
thought it was alive, and it scared me awful.” 
Her voice rose to a wail on the last word. 

“This is too much. You’ve gone just a little 
too far, young man. Come with me.” Miss 


A MENACE TO THE SCHOOL 


3 


Alton stood over the red-haired lad, looking like 
a grim figure of Justice. 

The boy shot a glance of withering scorn at 
his tearful victim, then rose from his seat. 

Grasping him none too gently by the arm. 
Miss Alton piloted him down the aisle and out 
of the door. It closed with a resounding bang. 

A buzz of conversation began in the big 
schoolroom. Two or three little girls left their 
seats and gathered about the heroine of the dis- 
quieting adventure, while half a dozen boys of 
the eighth grade of the West Park Grammar 
School put their heads together to discuss this 
latest bit of mischief on the part of their leader 
and idol, Teddy Burke. 

Meanwhile, Teddy, of the black eyes and Ti- 
tian hair, was being marched rapidly toward the 
principaPs office. 

Miss Alton flung open the door and ushered 
him into the august presence of Mr. Waldron, 
the principal, with, ‘‘Here is an incorrigible boy, 
Mr. Waldron.” 

The principal, a short, stern-faced man, ad- 
justed his eye-glasses and stared hard at Teddy. 
The boy hung his head, then raising his eyes 
regarded Mr. Waldron defiantly. 

“So you are here again, young man, for the 
third time in two weeks,” thundered the prin- 
cipal. “What has this bad boy done, Miss 
Alton?” 

Miss Alton began an indignant recital of Ted- 


4 EAREY HARDING — MESSENGER *^45^^ 


dy^s latest misdeed. The principal frowned as 
he listened. When she had finished, he fixed 
Teddy with severe eyes. 

‘‘Let me see. The last time yon were here 
it was for interrupting the devotional exercises 
by putting a piece of ice inside the collar of one 
of your schoolmates. Aren’t you ashamed of 
yourself? How would you like to have your 
schoolmates play upon you the unkind pranks 
you are so fond of playing upon them?” 

“I wouldn’t care,” returned the boy, un- 
abashed. “I wouldn’t make a fuss, either.” 

“Miss Alton is right,” snapped Mr. Waldron, 
his face reddening angrily at the boy’s retort. 
“You are, indeed, an incorrigible boy. I think 
I had better put your case before the Board of 
Education. There are special' schools for bad 
boys like you. We don’t care to have such a 
boy among us. You are a menace to the school. ’ ’ 
He continued to lecture Teddy sharply, ending 
with, “Take him back to your room for the day, 
Miss Alton, but make him remain after the oth- 
ers have gone home this afternoon. By that 
time I shall have decided what we had better 
do with him.” 

Teddy walked down the corridor ahead of 
Miss Alton with a sinking heart. Was he a 
menace to the school and could Mr. Waldron 
really put him in a school for bad boys? He 
had heard of such schools. He had heard, too, 
that sometimes the boys came out of them much 


A MENACE TO THE SCHOOL 


5 


worse than when they entered. The murmur of 
voices came to his ears as Miss Alton flung 
open the door and urged him into the school- 
room. The noise died a sudden death as she 
stepped over the threshold. 

‘‘Go to your seat/’ she ordered coldly. 

Teddy obeyed. The little girl, whose shriek 
had caused his downfall, eyed him with hor- 
ror. Even in the midst of his troubles he could 
not resist giving her an impish grin. She 
promptly made a face at him and looked the 
other way. The smile vanished from Teddy’s 
face. Then he folded his hands on his desk 
and thought busily for the next five minutes. 

The class resumed its interrupted recitation. 
Suddenly the boy reached into his desk and 
began stealthily to take out his belongings. The 
books belonged to the school, but a pencil box, 
a knife, a box of marbles, a top, a dilapidated 
baseball, a magnet and a small, round mirror 
with which he delighted to cast white shadows 
on the books of the long-sutfering eighth-grade 
girls, were treasures of his own. Stufling them 
into his pockets he replaced the books ; then he 
sat very still. It was almost time for the recess 
bell to ring. He hardly thought Miss Alton 
would order him to keep his seat. Such light 
punishments were not for him. To-night — ^but 
there would be no to-night in school for him. 
When recess came he would go outside and say 
good-bye to the fellows, then he would start out 


6 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


and hunt a job. He was almost sixteen, and 
the law said a boy conld work when he was 
fourteen, if he had a certificate. Well, he would 
get that certificate. His mother would let him 
go to work if he wanted to. She was so busy 
with her own atfairs she never cared much what 
he did. If he had a job, then Mr. Waldron 
couldn’t send him to a reform school. That was 
the place where incorrigible boys were sent. 

Teddy did not stop to consider that his 
mother might prove a match for Miss Alton and 
Mr. Waldron when it came to a question of her 
son’s incorrigibility. He thought only of put- 
ting himself beyond the reach of the school au- 
thorities by his own efforts. 

The recess bell rang at last and the pupils 
filed out in orderly rows to the big, grassy yard, 
at one side of the school building. Teddy was 
at once surrounded by half a dozen boys, his 
particular friends. The girls collected in lit- 
tle groups about the yard to comment on Ted- 
dy’s iniquity. They eyed him askance with cur- 
ious, aloof glances. The boys, however, were 
deeply interested in the possible outcome of 
Teddy’s rash defiance. 

‘Won ’re goin’ to get fired all right,” was the 
cheerful prophecy of one boy. ‘‘What’ll your 
mother say?” 

“She won’t say,” giggled a freckle-faced 
boy. “She’ll just take Ted across her knee 
and ” 


A MENACE TO THE SCHOOL 


7 


‘ ‘Well, I guess not , ’ ’ flung back Teddy. “I’m 
not going to wait to get fired, either. I’m go- 
ing to beat it. When the recess bell rings I’m 
not going in with the rest of you. See here,” 
Teddy began pulling his various treasured be- 
longings out of his pockets. “I brought all this 
stuff out to give you fellows. I sha’n’t want it. 
I’m going down to Martin Brothers’ Depart- 
ment Store and get a job. That’s what I’m go- 
ing to do. Here’s my looking glass, Sam. 
Every time you cast a shadow with it, think of 
me. And you can have my marbles. Bob. ’ ’ 
Teddy distributed his belongings rapidly 
about the little circle. The boys took them with 
some reluctance. They had far rather have 
Teddy Burke, ringleader of all their mischief, 
with them than his belongings. 

“Aw, why don’t you get your mother to come 
down here and fix it up with those old cranks?” 
demanded Sam Marvin regretfully. “It ain’t 
your stuff we want, Ted. It’s you. What ’re we 
goin ’ to do without you ? ’ ’ 

“Be good,” grinned Teddy. “I’m a menace 
to the school, you know.” 

“I wish I was goin’ to work,” said Bob Bay- 
burn sadly. “Pa won’t let me, though.” 

“Honestly, won’t your mother lick you if she 
finds out about what happened to-day?” in- 
quired Arthur Post, a tall, thin boy with a sol- 
emn face. 

“Lick nothing,” retorted Ted. “She isn’t 


8 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER ^^45^* 


going to find out about it. I^m going to tell her 
myself. Shell say I can go to work if I feel 
like it.^’ 

His chums eyed him with mingled admiration 
and regret. To them Teddy was a hero. 

There goes the bell. IVe got to beat it. 
Don! any of you start to go in till I get to the 
corner/^ directed Ted. ^^Then she/^ he jerked 
his thumb in Miss Alton’s direction, ‘‘won’t 
know I’ve skipped until it’s too late. I’ll let 
you know where I am as soon as I get that job. 
Good-bye, fellows. Be sure and do what smarty 
Alton tells you, and don’t go bringing any rub- 
ber snakes to school. You can have that one 
of mine if you can get it away from old Cross- 
patch.” 

With an air of gay bravado Teddy raised his 
hand in a kind of parting salute, then darted 
down the yard and through the gateway to the 
street. At the corner he waved his hand again, 
then swung out of sight, leaving a little knot 
of boys to gaze regretfully after him and won- 
der how they could possibly get along without 
wide-awake, mischievous Teddy Burke. 


CHAPTEB n 


OH THE TEAIL OP A JOB 

UT DON’T know what we are going to do, 
I Harry, if the cost of living goes any 
^ higher.” Mrs. Harding stared across 
the little center table at her sixteen-year-old son, 
an expression of deep worry looldng out of her 
patient, brown eyes. ‘‘A dollar used to seem 
like quite a lot of money, but it doesn’t go far 
these days. I’ve spent every cent I dare this 
week for groceries, and we’ve still three days 
to go until I’ll have the money for this dress. 
I’ve got to sew every minute to get it done. 
Thank goodness, the rent’s paid for this month. 
But you must have a new pair of shoes and I 
don’t know where they are going to come from. ’ ’ 
The little woman sighed, then attacked her sew- 
ing with fresh energy. can’t stop even to 
complain,” she added bravely. 

‘‘You’ll just have to let me go to work. 
Mother.” Harry Harding laid the text-book 
he was studying on the table and regarded his 
mother with serious eyes. 


10 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER *^45^* 


^‘But I don^t want to take yon out of school, 
Harry, ’ ’ she protested. ‘ ^ You are getting along 
so well. Why, next year you’ll be in high 
school.” 

‘‘No, I won’t. Mother. Do you think that a 
great big boy like me is going to let his mother 
support him any longer? It’s time I went to 
work. Besides, I haven’t the money for clothes 
and books and all the other things high school 
fellows have to have. I’m past sixteen. Lots 
of boys have to go to work when they’re only 
fourteen. I guess it won’t hurt me any to begin 
now. ’ ’ 

“But I want you to have an education, Harry. 
If your father had lived, he intended to let you 
go through high school and then to college.” 
Mrs. Harding’s voice trembled a little. The 
sudden death of her husband two years previous 
had been a shock from which she had never 
quite recovered. It was hard for her even to 
mention his name without shedding tears. 

“I’ll get an education, somehow, and work, 
too,” returned Harry confidently. “There are 
night schools where a fellow can go and learn 
things. Please let me quit school to-morrow 
and try,” he pleaded. “I can’t earn much at 
first, but even three dollars a week’ll help some. 
I’ve got to start some time, you know. If you 
won’t let me go to work I could sell papers after 
school.” 

“No, you couldn’t,” retorted his mother with 


ON THE TRAIL OF A JOB 


11 


decision. rather have you leave school 

than see you racing around the city streets sell- 
ing papers. That’s one thing you sha’n’t do.” 

‘‘Then let me go and hunt a job,” begged the 
boy. 

“I’ll think it over. Now go on studying your 
lesson and don’t tease me any more about it.” 

Harry took up his book obediently enough. 
His frequent pleading to leave school to go to 
work had always been promptly vetoed by his 
mother. She had struggled desperately to keep 
her son in school and was willing to go on with 
the struggle. It was Harry himself who had 
repeatedly begged her to allow him to take his 
place in the work-a-day world. She could 
never quite bring herself to the point of con- 
senting to the boy’s plea. But, to-night, as she 
thought darkly of their poverty and of their 
continual fight against actual want she was 
nearer consent than she had ever been before. 

Perhaps Harry felt this, for it was not long 
until the book went down on the table again. 
“Do say you’ll let me try. Mother,” he im- 
plored earnestly. “You don’t know how much 
it means to me. It isn’t as if I’d stop trying to 
learn things as soon as I started to work. I’d 
study harder than ever. Just think how much 
the money would help us after I’d been working 
awhile. Why, some of the greatest men that 
ever lived had to quit school and go to work 
when they were lots younger than I. Benjamin 


12 H AERY HARDING--- MESSENGER ^^45” 


Franklin did, and so did Abraham Lincoln. 
Just yesterday the teacher read us a story of 
how Lincoln earned his first dollar when he was 
a boy.’’ 

Mrs. Harding looked wistfully at her son’s 
eager face. ^‘My little son, do you want to help 
mother so much?” she asked tenderly. Her 
voice trembled a little. 

‘‘You know I do. Oh, Mother, may I try! 
Are you going to say ‘yes’ at last?” Harry 
sprang from his chair and going to his moth- 
er ’s chair slipped his arm around her neck. 

“Well,” began the little woman reluctantly, 
“if you are so set on working, I guess you might 
as well try it. But .remember, Harry, if you 
don’t like it, you can go back to school. We’ll 
get along some way.” 

‘ ‘ But I shall like it, ’ ’ protested Harry. “ I ’ve 
always said I was going to be a business man 
when I grew up. If I start right now maybe I’ll 
be one in a few years. ’ ’ 

“But where are you going to look foFwork, 
child ? ’ ’ asked Mrs. Harding. N ow that she had 
given her son the longed-for sanction to make 
his own way, she began to feel something of his 
boyish enthusiasm. 

“I don’t knoiw,” returned Harry thought- 
fully. Then, seized with a sudden inspiration, 
“I guess I’ll look in the Journal. That always 
has a lot of advertisements.” 

Picking up the evening paper, which lay on 


ON THE TRAIL OF A JOB 


13 


the center table, Harry turned its leaves to the 
column of ^‘Male Help Wanted, and scanned 
it earnestly. ‘^Here’s one. Mother. ‘Boy 
wanted for errands, good chance for advance- 
ment. Opportunity to learn business. 894 
Tyler. ^ That sounds good.’^ Taking the stub 
of a lead pencil from his pocket, Harry care- 
fully marked it. “Oh, here’s another. ‘Bright 
boy for office work. 1684 Cameron.’ ” This 
advertisement was duly checked. Harry went 
eagerly do'vvn the column until he had marked 
six advertisements. “There, that will do to 
start with. If I don’t get a position at any of 
those places I’ll try again when to-morrow’s 
paper comes out. But surely some of them will 
have a chance for me. It ’s nine o ’clock. I guess 
I’ll go to bed right now, so as to be up bright 
and early in the morning.” 

Piling his books on one arm, Harry went over 
to his mother and kissed her good night. “You 
must keep thinking hard that I’m going to get 
one of those positions. Mother,” he said 
brightly. Then he went into the tiny room that 
was really half of his mother’s room, curtained 
off for his use. Harry was very proud of his 
little room. It was so small it held nothing but 
his cot bed, one chair, a small table and a bam- 
boo book-case of two shelves, which he had 
bought in a second-hand store for a quarter. 
This held the few books he owned and was dear 
to his heart. 


14 HARRY HARDING ---MESSENGER **45** 


After he had undressed and lay down on his 
bed he found that he was too much excited over 
the prospect of his new venture to sleep. Al- 
ready he could see himself in a beautiful office, 
with soft rugs on the floor and shining oak fur- 
niture. He could imagine himself saying, ‘ ‘ Yes, 
sir,’’ and ^‘no, sir,” to his employer, and listen- 
ing with alert respectfulness to his orders. He 
would prove himself so willing to work and 
perform whatever he was given to do so faith- 
fully that in time he would be promoted to some- 
thing better. His favorite story-book hero, Dick 
Keynolds, had begun work as an office boy and 
had done wonderful things. Why couldn’t the 
same things happen again to him! 

When at ten o’clock his mother stole into the 
room, as was her nightly custom before going 
to bed, for a last look at her son, she saw two 
bright, wide-awake eyes peering at her. ‘‘This 
will never do, little man,” she said, patting his 
cheek. “You must go to sleep, if you are anx- 
ious to be up early to-morrow morning.” 

“I’ll try, Mother,” sighed Harry, “but I just 
can’t help thinking about it.” 

After his mother had kissed him again and 
gone to her own room, Harry shut his eyes 
tightly and resolved to go to sleep. When fi- 
nally the sandman did visit him, he dreamed 
that he was Dick Eeynolds and had secured a 
position in a bank. He was the president’s of- 
fice boy, and the president had sent him to the 


ON THE TRAIL OF A JOB 


13 


City Hall with a bag full of bank notes. He ran 
all the way from the bank to the Hall and was 
just going in the door when two boys leaped 
out from behind it and tried to take the bag 
away from him. He fought like a tiger, but he 
had to hang on to the bag with one hand while 
he knocked down the thieves with the other. As 
fast as he knocked them down they bobbed up 
again. Finally, one of them hit him over the 
head with an arithmetic. It was his own book. 
He recognized it by the green paper cover he 
had put on it. He wondered as he fought how 
the boy happened to have his arithmetic. Then 
the other boy suddenly took a long coil of rope 
from under his coat and lassoed him. He felt 
himself falling, falling. He struck the pave- 
ment with a terrible crash. Then 

“Why, Harry, what is the matter The 
City Hall, the money bag, even the robbers had 
faded away, and Harry found himself sitting on 
the bare floor, blinking up at his mother, who 
bent anxiously over him. 

“I guess I must have been asleep. Mother, 
and fell out of bed.’’ Harry eyed his mother 
sheepishly. “I dreamed I had a job in a bank 
and was fighting two fellows who tried to take 
a whole lot of money away from me. What 
time is it?” 

“ It ’s ten minutes to twelve. Now, go straight 
to sleep, or I won’t call you early.” 

Harry obediently climbed back into bed and 


16 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER** 45^* 


was not heard from again that night. It seemed 
t6 him as though he had hardly gone to sleep be- 
fore he heard his mother calling, ‘ ‘ Six o ’clock, 
Harry. ’ ’ The boy was ont of bed in an instant. 
He pattered to the window, rubbing the sleep out 
of his eyes as he went. The light of a perfect 
day in early October shone in as he raised the 
shade. If good weather were a happy omen, 
then surely he would obtain that which he was 
going forth so earnestly to seek. 

His mother had taken special pains with his 
breakfast that morning, and though he was 
quivering with excitement over what was to be 
his first venture into the busy world of trade, 
he tried to show his appreciation of her tender 
thoughtfulness by eating a hearty meal. In 
his neat, blue serge suit, he had put on his Sun- 
day best, his well-shined shoes and his clean, 
white shirt with its immaculate collar, he was 
above reproach as far as attire went, and his 
bright, boyish face with its clear, blue eyes and 
clean-cut, resolute mouth made him a boy to be 
proud of. So his mother thought as she looked 
approvingly at him across the table. She stifled 
the sigh of regret that her boy must so early 
take his place among the bread-winners, and 
listened to his eager plan of what he intended 
to do with an encouraging smile. 

‘‘Well, Mother, I’m off. That was a dandy 
breakfast. You Imow what I like, don’t you. I 
wish all the boys in the world had mothers like 


ON THE TRAIL OF A JOB 


17 


you. I don know when 1 11 be back. If I don ’t 
come home all day, you 11 know I’m working.” 
Eeaching to the nail where he always hung his 
cap, Harry stood for an instant with it in his 
hand. Then he kissed his mother and went man- 
fully down the two flights of stairs to the street. 

He had clipped from the paper the section 
of the want column with the advertisements he 
had marked. Now he studied it earnestly and 
set out for the Tyler Street address. It was 
at least fifteen squares from his home, but the 
clock on a nearby church had just chimed out 
the hour of seven. In his pocket reposed twenty 
cents in small change. He had earned it by do- 
ing errands after school. But he made up his 
mind that not a penny of it should go for car- 
fare if he could help it. He had plenty of time 
to walk. He would very likely reach the place 
he had selected for his first call before the of- 
fice was open. He wondered what sort of build- 
ing it would be, and whether it was an office 
building or a factory. More than one person 
glanced in friendly fashion at the erect, manly 
lad as he hurried along. There was something 
in his earnest young face that commanded at- 
tention and instant approbation. 

There it is,” he murmured as, after a half- 
hour’s brisk walk he came opposite a tall 
rather dingy-looking brick building. ‘‘That 
must be the office over there where the sign is 
hanging out.” 


18 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


Hurrying across the street the hoy ap- 
proached the door over which hung the sign, 
‘ ^ The Knickerbocker Worsted Mills. ’ ’ He read 
it aloud, then looked a trifle disappointed. This 
did not exactly accord with his ideas of a po- 
sition. Then he laughed at his own mental hesi- 
tation. “What do you care if it is a mill office, 
Harry Harding, he murmured. “It^s work 
you^re looking for, and you canT expect to have 
everything just the way you want it.’’ 

Turning the knob on the door that bore a 
small sign of “Office,” the boy opened it and 
stepped inside a long room that had the shin- 
ing oak furniture of his dreams. This room 
was divided off into many compartments by 
little oak fences with swinging gates. Near the 
door, at a little desk, sat a boy of about his own 
age. As he stepped into the room the boy rose 
to meet him. 

“Whada yuh want?” he asked supercil- 
liously. 

“Good morning,” said Harry politely. “I 
came in answer to your advertisement in the 
Journal for a boy. To whom do I go?” 

“Yuh don’t go unless I let yuh in,” declared 
the boy ill-naturedly. “Anyway, the position’s 
filled. The boss just hired a boy about ten min- 
utes ago. That’s him over there.” He pointed 
to a black-haired lad, who had just emerged 
from a room adjoining the long office. ‘ ‘ That ’s 


ON THE TRAIL OF A JOB 


19 


the kid. Ynh better beat it. Nothin^ doin^ 
around here.’’ 

‘ ‘ Can ’t I see the manager or — or — someone 1 ’ ’ 
persisted Harry. 

‘ ‘ N aw, yuh can ’t. Think I wanta get my head 
snapped off by buttin’ in where Mr. Warner’s 
openin’ his mail? Guess I know my business. 
Didn’t the boss just say, ‘Fred, if any more 
boys come here answerin’ our ad, tell ’em we’ve 
hired a boy?’ There’s nothin’ doin’, I tell yuh. 
Can’t yuh understand that?” 

“Yes, I can understand that,” retorted 
Harry with spirit. “What I can’t understand 
is how a big firm like this happens to have such 
a rude office boy. Good morning.” 

Harry walked away, his cheeks burning, eyes 
snapping, leaving the disagreeable boy to gaze 
after him in positive astonishment. 

Once outside the office, Harry paused and tak- 
ing out the section of newspaper he had marked, 
scanned it earnestly. The next nearest place 
he had selected was at least a mile and a half 
from where he stood. It was twenty minutes to 
eight o ’clock. ‘ ‘ I guess I ’d better ride, ’ ’ mused 
Harry. “The earlier I reach a place, the bet- 
ter my chance will be to get something to do. 
I hope all the places won’t be like that mill. 
Why, I didn’t have a chance to talk to a soul 
except that smart office boy.” 

When, at a few minutes after eight o’clock, 
Harry climbed the steps of an imposing build- 


20 HARRY HAEDING ^MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


ing of white stone, and was waved to a door on 
the right by a uniformed attendant, he entered 
a good-sized ante-room, only to find it filled 
with boys of anywhere from fourteen to eigh- 
teen years of age. They were not making so 
much noise as one might expect at least fifteen 
active boys to make, yet a distinct buzz of con- 
versation was going on. 

Harry paused irresolutely. His eyes met 
those of a thin, red-haired, black-eyed boy with 
a mischievous face who stood just to the right 
of the door. The black-eyed boy grinned in 
friendly fashion. ^ ‘ Hullo, he said. 

‘ ^ Good-morning, returned Harry, answering 
the grin with a pleasant smile. ‘^Are all these 
boys looking for the same position?’’ 

^ ‘ Yep, ’ ’ nodded the black-eyed boy. ‘ ‘ I guess 
the fellow that’s in the office now is going to get 
it. He’s been there quite a while.” 

He had hardly finished speaking when the 
door to the inner office opened and a tall, severe- 
looking man appeared. ‘‘We won’t need you, 
boys, ’ ’ he said curtly. ‘ ‘ The position is filled. ’ ’ 
He waved his arm as though to shoo the waiting 
throng of lads out of the ante-room, then dis- 
appeared. The door closed after him with a 
reverberating bang that shattered the hopes of 
the fifteen waiting youngsters. 

“Huh,” ejaculated the black-eyed boy in dis- 
gust, “no more offices like this for me. I’ve 
been to two before this, and every time I’m too 


ON THE TRAIL OF A JOB 


21 


late. I guess these fellows that get the jobs get 
up in the middle of the night. Me for Martin’s 
Department Store.' That’s where I ought to 
have gone in the first place. ’ ’ 

‘‘Do they need boys there?” asked Harry. 
He had walked beside his new acquaintance as 
far as the door. Here they paused. The at- 
tendant eyed them threateningly. 

“I hope so. Come on. Let’s get out of here. 
That man in the uniform will hurt his eyes tryin ’ 
to look a hole through us.” The thin little boy 
urged Harry out of the building and down the 
steps to the street. ‘ ‘ Say, what ’s your name ? ’ ’ 
he asked curiously. 

‘ ‘ Harry Harding. What is yours ? ’ ’ 

“My name’s Theodore Burke, but everybody 
calls me Ted or Teddy, and I just quit school to 
find a job.” 

“I haven’t quit yet,” declared Harry, “but 
I’m going to as soon as I find work.” 

‘ ‘ Then you didn ’t get fired ? ’ ’ 

“Oh, no. I am going to work to help my 
mother. I am obliged to find work.” 

“I had a fight with the teacher,” related 
Teddy, with unabashed candor. “She said I 
was a menace to the West Park School, and she 
was going to have me put in a school for tough 
kids. So I gave the fellows my stuff and beat 
it at recess. Ma was mad, but she got over it 
right away and said I could go to work if I 
wanted to.” 


22 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER '^45^* 


‘‘The teacher couldn^t put you in a school for 
tough boys, unless you did something pretty 
bad,’’ informed Harry. 

“I put a rubber snake in a girl’s seat,” con- 
fessed Ted, “and she hollered like anything.” 
His black eyes twinkled. 

Harry laughed. “Nobody could put you in 
a reform school for that, ’ ’ he said wisely. ‘ ‘ The 
teacher was trying to scare you. I guess you’re 
just full of mischief, that’s all.” 

“I guess I am,” agreed Ted, “but, anyhow, 
I’m not goin’ back to West Park School again.” 

“Was that your school? I’ve been going to 
the Winthrop School. It’s on the North Side. 
I’d be in high school next year if I kept on.” 

“So would I,” nodded Teddy, “but not for 
mine. I ’d rather work. ’ ’ 

“I’d rather go to school,” sighed Harry, “but 
I can’t.” 

“Say, wouldn’t it be funny if we’d both get 
a job at Martins’?” queried Teddy. 

“MTiat makes you think they need boys there ? 
There was no advertisement in the paper. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Oh, I know a boy that quit there yesterday 
for an office job, and he told me that there was 
always a chance there for a fellow that wasn’t 
afraid to work.” 

“Is that so?” Harry brightened visibly. 
“Suppose we go down there right away,” he 
proposed. “What time does the store open?” 

“Half past eight.” Teddy Burke took a dol- 


ON THE TRAIL OF A JOB 


23 


lar watch from his pocket and consulted it, say- 
ing, “It’s twenty after now. We can walk all 
right and he there by 8:45. That’s early 
enough.” 

Without further parley the two boys set out 
for Martin Brothers’ Department Store, the 
largest retail concern of its kind in the city. Ac- 
customed as they were to the roar of the city 
streets, they talked on earnestly in their boyish 
voices, oblivious to the noise. 

“Here we are,” announced Teddy, at last, as 
they paused before a huge stone edifice that 
towered high above the neighboring buildings. 
‘ ‘ Let ’s go in at that big middle door. Then we 
can ask someone the way to the office.” 

“Suppose we ask that man standing in front 
of the elevators,” suggested Harry a moment 
later, as they threaded their way in and out of 
the crowded aisles. Suiting the action to the 
word, he approached the man and asked his 
question. 

“All the way down, turn to your right, and 
four aisles over,” repeated the man mechanic- 
ally. 

“Thank you,” Harry replied doubtfully. 
“ ‘All the way down, turn to your right, and 
four aisles over,’ ” he repeated. 

“That’s clear as mud,” was Teddy’s satirical 
conunent. 

“I guess we can find it. Let me see. We 
have to go clear down to that desk. Come on. ’ ’ 


24 HARRY HARDING -^MESSENGER *^45^^ 


Harry led the way. From the desk they made 
the turning to the right and counted the aisles. 

see it/^ Teddy cried, pointing straight 
ahead. 

^‘Yes, there it is.^’ 

A dozen steps down a short, narrow aisle 
brought the boys to an enclosure railed off from 
the passage by a flat-topped, breast-high par- 
tition of oak. Within the enclosure were sev- 
eral desks. At these desks young men and 
women were seated. Beyond the enclosure they 
caught sight through half-opened doors of an 
inner office with a shining desk, before which a 
grave, middle-aged man was sitting. Along the 
wall, facing the outer office, were long, oak 
benches. These were but sparsely occupied. A 
gray-haired woman occupied the end of one of 
them. The length of a bench from her two 
young girls sat, talking in whispers and glanc- 
ing furtively at the young man who received 
the aspirants for positions. 

It seemed hours to both lads before their turn 
came. ‘‘Well, boys, what is it?” asked the 
young man kindly. He had a dark, alert face, 
and dark, penetrating eyes. 

“We came to apply for work in the store, 
sir.” It was Harry who answered, at a nudge 
from Ted. 

“How old are you?” 

“He is fifteen and I am sixteen, sir,” replied 
Harry. 


ON THE TRAIL OF A JOB 


25 


‘‘You will have to go to Mr. Keeners office to 
fill your application blanks. He has charge of 
the store messenger service, and of all the boys 
who work here.’’ 

“Where is his office, sir?” 

“On the third floor, Warren Street front; 
north-east corner.” 

“Thank you, sir. Do you think Mr. Keene 
needs any boys?” Harry could not refrain from 
asking the question. 

“I don’t know, my boy,” smiled the young 
man, “but if he does need any help, I shouldn’t 
be surprised if he gave you a trial.” 

Harry’s eyes glowed with eagerness to know 
his fate. Thanking the young man, he nudged 
Ted to come on. 

“Let’s not bother with the elevator,” he pro- 
posed. “That’s the way to the Warren Street 
side. As soon as we find the stairway we can 
go straight to Mr. Keene’s office.” 

The prospective wage-earners skipped nimbly 
up the long flights of stairs, bent on reaching 
their goal as fast as sturdy young leg-power 
could carry them. After a little inquiry they 
managed to bring up at their goal. Here they 
found themselves standing before a large, 
railed-in space similar to that of the main of- 
fice on the first floor. On a closed door at the 
left of this space appeared the magic wordSj 
“Mr. Keene.” The two lads brought up at the 
railing and looked uncertainly about them, not 


26 HARRY HARDING ---MESSENGER '' 45 '' 


quite sure what their next move would be. 

A pretty young woman with curly brown hair 
and pink cheeks rose from a nearby typewriter 
desk. "Well, boys?" she interrogated with an 
encouraging smile. 

"We'd like to see Mr. Keene." As before, 
Harry was spokesman. 

"Sit down there and wait a few minutes." 
She pointed to an oak settee. "Mr. Keene is 
busy with his mail just now. You can see him 
when he has finished. I will tell him about you 
when I go into his office for dictation." 

Just then there was a loud buzzing sound. 
The young woman picked up her notebook and 
hurried toward the office door marked "Mr. 
Keene," leaving two anxious boys to wonder 
what fortune had in store for them. 


CHAPTER III 


AN ANXIOUS MOMENT 



R. KEENE will see yon. Go in there, 
boys.^^ The pretty yonng woman 
emerged from an inner office with 


this welcome announcement. Resuming her 
seat at her typewriter, she began clicking the 
keys industriously. 

‘‘At last,’^ breathed Teddy Burke, with an 
impatient twitch of his head. “You go first, 
Harry. 

Harry stepped rather diffidently forward and 
over the threshold of Mr. Keeners office, Teddy 
following closely at his heels. The only occu- 
pant of the room, the man at the desk, looked 
up from a letter he was reading as the boys en- 
tered. His shrewd, dark eyes took in his call- 
ers at one sweeping glance. “Well, boys,’^ he 
began in quick, business-like tones, “what can 
I do for youT^ 

“We came to see about getting work, sir.’^ 
Harry found himself answering in the same bus- 
iness-like tones of the superintendent. 


27 


28 HARRY HARDING ---‘MESSENOER^^ 45^* 


‘‘How old are you?^^ 

“lam sixteen/’ 

“And how old are yonf” He turned to 
Teddy. 

“Fifteen, sir.” 

“Have you a certificate?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Let me see it.” 

Teddy drew his certificate from an inner 
pocket. It was rolled up and fastened with an 
elastic band. His first thought after receiving 
his mother’s permission to go to work had 
been for the obtaining of the necessary cer- 
tificate. 

The shrewd-eyed man examined it carefully. 
“Why did you leave school?” he asked quietly. 

Teddy blushed rosy red. Then looking rather 
defiant, he said clearly, “I couldn’t get along 
with the teacher. But I’ve had enough of school. 
I want to work.” 

Their interrogator smiled slightly. Then his 
eyes sought Harry’s face. 

“And did you have trouble with the teacher, 
too?” 

“No, sir. I am obliged to go to work to help 
my mother support us. I left school of my own 
freewill.” 

“You will have to bring your certificate of 
birth. We must know positively that you are 
as old as you claim to be.” 

Harry’s face feU. He had hoped that they 


AN ANXIOVS MOMENT 


29 


would be able to start work at once, provided 
they were lucky enough to obtain positions. 

The brown-eyed man studied the two boys in 
silence. Teddy braced himself and put on as 
dignified an expression as he could muster. 
Harry returned the scrutiny with calm, steady 
eyes. Still without speaking, Mr. Keene 
touched the buzzer at one side of his desk. The 
next instant the pretty girl appeared. 

‘‘Miss Mason, give these boys application 
blanks to fill. Show them where to sit to write, ’ ’ 
he directed. “When you have filled them, boys, 
bring them to me.^’ 

“We^re goin^ to get a job, all right, whis- 
pered Teddy, as, with their application blanks 
in their hands, they followed their attractive 
guide to a long table where another boy sat, la- 
boriously filling in the spaces on the big white 
card. Teddy’s thin little face was aglow with 
triumph as he slipped into a chair beside the 
first-comer and began a curious inspection of 
his own application blank. 

“Don’t be too sure,” murmured Harry. “We 
may fill out these blanks and then Mr. Keene 
may tell us that he will send for us if he needs 
us.” 

“Looks like a bill-of-fare, doesn’t it?” 
grinned Teddy, as he opened the blank, which 
was folded twice like a programme, and had 
printed matter on all four sides. “Let me see. 
What’ll I have to eat. Oh, excuse me I I mean, 


30 E AERY EAEBING ^MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


What^s yoar full name?’’ Teddy’s voice rose 
a little higher with each word. 

‘‘Sh-h-h,” warned Harry. ‘‘Be more quiet, 
Teddy. You don’t want to be told to keep still, 
even before you’re hired, do you?” 

There was nothing goody-goody or priggish 
in Harry’s tone, so Teddy did not resent his 
new friend’s warning. 'V^ile Harry, uncon- 
sciously drawn toward the mischief-loving, 
black-eyed youngster, spoke as he might have 
to a brother, if he had had one. 

“All right. I’ll be good.” Teddy seized a 
fresh hold on his application card and glowered 
at it with a purposely threatening scowl that 
made Harry smile in spite of himself. Then 
the little boy laid it down, and seizing a pen 
from the rack in front of him, dipped it ener- 
getically into the ink, spattered a few drops on 
the table and settled himself to his task. There 
were a great many questions to answer, such 
as, “Have you ever before been employed?” 
“Are you the sole support of your family?” 
“How many persons are dependent upon your 
earnings?” “Will you cheerfully obey the 
rules of this establishment?” and “Would you 
consider it your duty to report any disobedience 
of the rules of the store on the part of your fel- 
low employees?” 

“I’m not goin’ to say, ‘yes’ to this,” whis- 
pered Teddy, pointing with his index finger to 
the objectionable rule. “Catch me reporting 


AN ANXIOVS MOMENT 


31 


anybody. I’m no telltale. That’s a nice idea — 
running to the superintendent’s office with every 
little thing.” Teddy sat back in his chair, dis- 
gust written on every feature. 

‘‘I don’t think it means every little thing, 
Ted.” Harry soberly scanned the paragraph. 
‘‘I think it means the big things like stealing, or 
damaging store property or something like 
that. Wouldn’t you report another fellow if 
you saw him taking what didn’t belong to him? ” 

‘‘No; I’d make him put it back,” declared 
Ted stoutly. 

“But he might steal it again when your back 
was turned,” argued Harry. “Do you think 
a boy who would steal would be a safe person to 
employ in a big place like this, full of beautiful 
and expensive things? I don’t. Why, if such 
things weren’t looked after and reported, a 
whole lot of the employees might be tempted to 
take what didn’t belong to them. First thing 
you know the store might fail and then every- 
one in it would be without work.” 

“I guess that’s so,” admitted Ted, visibly 
impressed by Harry’s somewhat far-fetched 
argument for strict honesty of purpose as well 
as deed. 

“Of course it’s so,” nodded Harry. “Why, 
I wouldn’t put my name on this card if I weren’t 
ready and willing to obey all the rules of this 
store.” 

“Well, I don’t suppose I would, either,” ad- 


32 HARRY HARDING— MESSENGER ^*45^^ 


mitted Teddy. ‘‘I thought if I got clear of 
school and went to work I could do as I pleased. 
But this doesn’t look like it.” He wagged his 
head in disapproval of the card. 

‘^Oh, well, here goes.” He wrote ‘‘Yes” in 
a large, boyish hand after the contested ques- 
tion. 

A brief silence ensued. The boys wrote their 
answers carefully. They wished to hand Mr. 
Keene neatly written applications. 

“There, it’s done.” Harry heaved a little 
sigh of relief. Laying down his pen he turned 
to the first page of his application blank and 
began to read over what he had written. Teddy 
finished writing soon afterward. His applica- 
tion filled, Harry busied himself with watching 
what went on about him, while he waited for 
Teddy. The outer office, which they were in, 
was much larger than the inner one. About it 
were scattered several desks. There was one 
large desk at one side of the room, but it was 
closed. The boy wondered vaguely to whom it 
belonged. It must belong to a person of im- 
portance. It was by far the largest desk in the 
office. At a smaller desk a little to one side sat 
a young man. He was busily engaged in trans- 
ferring something from cards to a large book 
that looked for all the world like the teacher's 
register in school. The cards were about the 
size of a post-card and from where he sat Harry 
could see that they were ruled into little squares 


AN ANXIOUS MOMENT 


33 


and had printing at the left-hand side. He 
guessed that these were the record cards of the 
boys of the great establishment, and he after- 
ward found his guess to be correct. 

‘ ‘ All right. I ’m done. ^ ’ Teddy finished writ- 
ing with a flourish, and rose from the table. 

“Better look your blank over, first,’’ advised 
Harry. ‘ ‘ I went over mine. ’ ’ 

“Oh, bother,” ejaculated Teddy impatiently. 
Nevertheless, he sat down again and read over 
what he had written. “Say,” he turned to 
Harry. “What salary did you put down?” 

“Four dollars a week,” returned Harry. “I 
think I can earn it.” 

“I put down three. They’ll never give you 
four to start with. I guess two and a half’ll be 
about what we’ll get.” 

“I won’t take that.” Harry’s boyish mouth 
set in a determined line. “A big boy of six- 
teen who can’t earn at least four dollars a week 
doesn ’t amount to much. I think I ’m worth four 
dollars a week, so I put it down. If I don’t get 
that. I’ll surely get three. A boy I know, who 
works in Arnold’s store, says that when you 
apply for a position in a store you must always 
ask for more salary than you expect to get. But 
that isn’t why I put down four dollars. I set it 
down because I know I can earn it.” 

“I guess I’ll change mine.” Ted picked up 
his pen, hesitated, then laid it down. “Oh, 
what’s the use of changing it now. I’ve writ- 


{34 EARRY HARDING— MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


ten three, 1^11 stick to it and see what happens. 
Come along. That man in there T think we are 
pretty slow.’’ 

The boys once more made their way to Mr. 
Keene’s office. He was busy for the moment 
with a tall, cross-looking man who turned at the 
interruption and glowered at the two boys like 
a veritable ogre, then resumed his conversation 
with Mr. Keene in quick, harsh tones. 

‘^Some crank,” whispered the irrepressible 
Ted to Harry. 

' Harry gave his companion a sly poke. Teddy 
subsided with his usual cheerful grin. But low- 
spoken as was Teddy’s rude comment, the 
cranky-looking man had heard. Instead of at- 
tributing it to Teddy, however, he glared 
straight at Harry, as, his business with Mr. 
Keene finished, he passed the waiting boys and 
stalked on out of the office. Luckily, at the very 
instant Teddy had made this careless but un- 
complimentary comment, Mr. Keene had been 
called upon to answer the telephone on his desk. 
He was still talking when the disagreeable man 
left his office and under cover of it Harry said 
sternly, ‘‘Cut it, Teddy.” 
j Teddy, whose quick eyes had noted that the 
Icross-looking man had silently blamed Harry 
for the rude remark, became at once unduly sol- 
emn. 

j “Here are our applications, sir.” Harry 
'Was again spokesman. He laid his application 


AN ANXIOVS MOMENT 


35 


blank on Mr. Keene’s desk. Teddy followed 
suit. Mr. Keene looked searchingly at the two 
eager, boyish faces. Long experience in the 
handling and training of promising youth had 
taught him to read boy nature. In Harry’s and 
Teddy’s features he saw much that appealed to 
him, and before reading their meagre histories 
and expectations as set down on the blanks be- 
fore him, he had determined to give them a 
chance. However, he merely said, ‘‘Very well, 
young men. You may come here to this office 
at half past seven o’clock to-morrow morning 
and I will see what I can do for you. Bring 
your certificates with you.” 

“Thank you, sir. Good morning,” said 
Harry politely. 

“Thank you, sir. Good morning,” repeated 
Teddy hastily. 

“Good morning,” returned Mr. Keene pleas- 
antly. 

Neither boy spoke until they had left the outer 
office behind. Then Teddy Burke gave vent to 
his disappointment. “We don ’t know any more 
about whether we’re going to work here than 
we did when we came in,” he grumbled. 

“It looks hopeful to me,” was Harry’s cheery 
response. “I’m going home and think just as 
hard as I can that I’m going to get the position. 
Mr. Keene looked so nice and kind, I don’t be- 
lieve he’d tell us to come back in the morning 
if he didn’t intend to give us a trial.” 


36 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER *‘45^^ 


‘‘Maybe not.’^ Teddy’s tones expressed lin- 
gering doubt. “I’ll try to make myself believe 
I’m goin’ to get it, too. If we don’t, we’ll just 
have to go somewhere else to find work.” 

Harry nodded emphatically. 

“The fellows up at West Park School will 
wish they were me, if I do get it. Won’t it be 
great not to have to go to school any more?” 

“No, it won’t.” Harry’s face fell, as the 
memory of the school life which he had been ob- 
liged to leave rose before him. “I wish I could 
go to school.” 

“Not for mine,” reiterated Ted slangily. 
“I’m all done with school forever and ever. ” 

But even as he boasted of his freedom from 
the school-room, a most astonishing surprise 
was hurrying to catch up with Teddy Burke. 


CHAPTER IV 

A SXJEPBISB AND A DISAPPOINTMENT 

A THIN, black-eyed boy halted on the street 
corner opposite Martin Brothers^ De- 
partment Store and looked eagerly up 
and down the street. It was fifteen minutes 
past seven by the clock on a nearby public build- 
ing. Commerce Street was beginning to teem 
with early-morning activity. Noisy, crowded 
trolley cars rumbled by, each bearing its pa- 
tient load of working men and women, forced 
by necessity to make their daily pilgrimage in 
over-crowded cars, where they paid their hard- 
earned nickels for the privilege of hanging to 
a strap, or being knocked about like unresisting 
nine-pins as the cars jolted and bumped over 
weary blocks of city streets. Hurrying pedes- 
trians impatiently dodged one another, each in- 
tent on reaching his goal at the very earliest 
possible moment. The thin little boy on the 
corner eyed the clock with a frown. It was now 
twenty minutes past seven. Where was Harry 
Harding? 


37 


38 HARRY HAEBING^-^MESSENGEU*^ 45^^ 


‘ ‘ Did you think I was never coming ? ’ ’ Teddy 
Burke gave a positive jump, as he heard Har- 
ry’s voice in his ear. The other boy had come 
up the street at a moment when Teddy was bus- 
ily gazing in the opposite direction. ‘‘I know 
it’s late. I walked. I should have given myself 
a little more time, though. To-morrow I’ll start 
ten minutes earlier. We’ll just about reach 
Mr. Keene’s office by half past seven.” 

‘‘Catch me walking to work in the morning,” 
said Teddy, as they hurried across the street. 
“I don’t mind walking home, but I’d have to 
start fifteen minutes earlier if I hoofed it down 
here every day, and I need that fifteen minutes 
for sleep. Ma gave me a quarter for lunch and 
carfare, too, so I guess I can spend it.” 

“You’re richer than I am,” laughed Harry. 
“I’ve only a dime.” 

By this time the boys had entered the store 
and were walking briskly down the main 
arcade to the elevator nearest to Mr. Keene’s 
office. 

“We’ll make it, with five minutes to spare,” 
commented Harry as they stepped out of the 
elevator. He pointed to a clock on the wall. It 
was twenty-five minutes past seven. 

But when they reached the large outer office 
and waiting room where they had filed their ap- 
plications, they were somewhat surprised to see 
at least eight boys of about their own age seated 
on the oak benches reserved for applicants. 


A SURPRISE AND A DISAPPOINTMENT 39 


‘‘I wonder if theyVe got jobs, or are just 
waiting to see Mr. Keene, whispered Teddy. 

^ ‘ I wonder where that nice girl is. The one who 
took us into the office yesterday. I’d like to 
know how we’re going to get in to see Mr. 
Keene, if he doesn ’t know we are here. There ’s 
a man at the big desk this morning. Don’t you 
remember ? It was shut when we were here yes- 
terday. I wonder what he does?” Teddy’s 
sharp, black eyes roved here and there, taking 
in every point of interest. Suddenly they grew 
round with astonishment. ‘‘Oh, look, Harry!” 
He pointed excitedly. Advancing from the di- 
rection of the stairway was a procession of 
boys. They were walking two abreast, in pre- 
cise, orderly fashion. Harry and Teddy 
watched them in fascination. 

“Whew!” breathed Teddy. “What a lot o’ 
boys. I wonder where they’re goin’? I don’t 
b’lieve they’ll want us here when they’ve got 
so many other fellows.” 

“I thought you said you were going to keep 
thinking you’d get a position,” reminded 
Harry, smiling. His eyes were riveted interest- 
edly on the line of boys now almost out of sight 
around a corner formed by a partition at the 
further end of the long open space where the 
waiting boys were seated. 

“Well, I did, and I am,” retorted Teddy. 
“Oh, dear, it’s a quarter to eight now, and here 
we sit” He fidgeted impatiently, slid to the 


40 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER *^45^^ 


far end of the long bench, then slid back again, 
bumping smartly against Harry. 

‘‘Quit it, Ted,^’ rebuked Harry good-humor- 
edly. 

Ted snickered softly, but ceased his sliding. 
He sat quietly for perhaps three minutes, then 
impatience overcame him. “If nobody comes 
to ask us what we want by eight o^clock, I’m 
goin’ to beat it out of here,” he warned. “I’ll 
go somewhere else and look for a job.” 

“My, what a lot of patience you have,” com- 
mented Harry sarcastically. 

At that moment the man at the large desk, 
whose back had been toward them, swung round 
in his chair and viewed the little assemblage 
vdth critical eyes. Rising from his chair he 
strolled over to where the waiting youngsters 
sat. ‘ ‘ How many of you were here yesterday ? ’ ’ 
he asked. 

“I was,” Teddy answered like a flash. 

“So was I,” declared Harry. 

No one else answered. 

“Did Mr. Keene tell you to come back this 
morning?” was the next question. 

“Yes, sir,” came the simultaneous answer. 

The young man, who had a fair, pleasant 
face, very blue eyes, and a large, humorous 
mouth, stepped into the inner office. The next 
second he appeared in the doorway and beck- 
oned to Harry and Teddy. 

“Good morning, boys,” greeted Mr. Keene 


A SURPRISE AND A DISAPPOINTMENT 41 


briskly. His alert eyes scanned the lads before 
him. ^ ‘ Did yon bring your certificates ? ’ ’ 

‘‘Here is mine, sir.’^ Harry tendered his 
birth certificate. Teddy once more presented 
to Mr. Keene the certificate from the Bnrean 
of Labor, which, in company with his mother, 
the boy had secured on the previous day before 
starting out on the glorious adventure which 
was to end his school days for good and all — 
by his own reckoning, at least. Mr. Keene had 
returned it to him the day before, but he again 
accepted the fateful document, and went over 
the two certificates carefully. 

“Well, boys,^’ he said at last, “do you think 
you can work for the highest interests of the 
store 

“I will try very hard, sir,^^ answered Harry 
seriously. 

“I think I can.’’ Teddy spoke more boldly. 

Mr. Keene regarded him with a quizzical ex- 
pression that was very near to a smile. In 
Teddy’s sharp little face and bright eyes he 
read the boy’s mischievous nature. But he 
also looked further and saw honesty and man- 
liness in him. 

“Kemember, at first you will be only a very 
small part of this great business machine, but 
sometimes a defect in the smallest part will 
serve to clog the whole machine. If you faith- 
fully perform whatever you are given to do, in 
a little while you will receive larger salaries and 


42 HAURY HARDING ---MESSENGER *^45^* 


promotion. It rests with yourselves whether 
you will be indispensible to this store, or worth- 
less. Let me see.’’ He picked up a memoran- 
dum on his desk. ‘‘Which of you is Theodore 
Burke?” 

“Me,” answered Teddy with a fine disregard 
for English. “I — I — ^mean, I am, sir.” 

“You are to go to the house furnishings. De- 
partment Number 40, in the basement. They 
need a bright, steady, obedient boy there very 
badly. Do you^ think you can fill the posi- 
tion?” 

“I — think I can.” Teddy’s voice was not 
quite so confident as in the beginning. The idea 
of house furnishings did not appeal to him. He 
had secretly hoped to be put in the sporting 
goods department. Teddy’s whole soul was 
bound up in games and sports, and though slen- 
der he was strong, well-muscled and had con- 
siderable reputation among his schoolmates for 
running, leaping and swimming. 

“And you are Harry Harding.” Mr. Keene 
consulted his memorandum, then glanced up at 
Harry. 

“Yes, sir.” 

“lam going to put you at the exchange desk, 
between the book department and the jewelry. 
Here is your card. Every boy in the store car- 
ries one. You must take care of it. Do not 
deface it or lose it. It is marked every day by 
your aisle manager and your teacher, and is a 


A SURPRISE AND A DISAPPOINTMENT 45 


record of your behavior in the store, whether 
in school or on the selling floor/ ^ 

At the word ‘teacher,’’ Teddy Burke figura- 
tively pricked up his ears. What was Mr. 
Keene talking about, and what did he mean by 
his record in school? Was it possible that each 
day he would have to take his card to his ancient 
enemy. Miss Alton? Would Mr. Keene send to 
West Park Grammar School for his record? 
It was a most uncomfortable moment for Teddy. 

Harry, however, was drinking in the super- 
intendent's words with an eagerness born of 
a sudden hope. He thrilled at the words 
‘‘teacher’^ and ‘‘ school. He remembered 
dimly that a boy had once told him of a certain 
department store in the city which conducted 
a school for its messenger and stock boys. He 
had forgotten all about it, but now his heart 
beat faster. Suppose that store were Martins ^ 
and that he 

Mr. Keene interrupted his reflections with, 
‘‘Through the kindness of Mr. Edwin Martin, 
the senior partner of Martin Brothers, the store 
has a school for both the boys and girls under 
eighteen years of age who are employed here. 
Every boy and every girl must go to school 
from half-past seven until eleven o ^clock on two 
different days of each week. We expect our 
boys to take advantage of this great privilege 
and do their very best, all the time, whether in 
school or on the floor.’’ 


44 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER *^45^^ 


‘‘I am 50 glad I can still go to school.’^ Har- 
ry voice vibrated with thankfulness. Teddy 
was strangely silent. 

‘ Ht is a great opportunity, my boy,’’ returned 
Mr. Keene kindly. ‘^Now, take these slips to 
Mr. Marsh, the young man who brought you 
here. He will show you to your departments 
and tell you what to do. ’ ’ 

Thank you, sir,” Harry’s eyes were shining 
with happiness as he turned to leave the room. 

‘‘Thank you, sir,” said Teddy mechanically. 
His thin face was decidedly solemn. Supreme 
disgust looked out of his black eyes. Once out- 
side the office, Harry felt a quick clutch at his 
arm. Harry’s blue eyes met Teddy’s scornful 
gaze. “I’m goin’ to beat it,” he declared. 
‘ ‘ Catch me working any place where I have to 
go to school.” 

“Oh, don’t be such a goose.” Harry’s voice 
was purposely sharp. He had no time to argue 
the matter with Teddy. “I wouldn’t be a quit- 
ter until I’d tried things out. You may like 
this school as much as you hated the other. 
Come on. We can’t stand here talking all 
day.” 

Teddy walked beside Harry to Mr. Marsh’s 
desk with the air of a martyr. As he passed the 
still-waiting row of boys he hunched his shoul- 
ders and stared at them with a cross-eyed glare, 
which was one of his accomplishments, and 
caused them to giggle audibly. 


A SURPRISE AND A DISAPPOINTMENT 45 


‘ ‘ What did you do to make those hoys laugh V’ 
queried Harry. 

‘‘I just looked at them. Want me to look at 
you the same way?’’ 

‘^No, I don’t. I want you to he good and not 
get fired before you’re hired,” smiled Harry. 

This brought a snicker from Teddy, and the 
grin had not vanished from his impish face 
when they paused before Mr. Marsh’s desk. 

‘‘All right, boys?” was his cheerful inquiry. 
“Let me have your slips. You are to go to 
Department 40, Burke, and you, Harding, to ex- 
change desk Number 10, on the first floor. I’ll 
send messengers with you to these depart- 
ments.” 

“Please, sir, we would like to know some- 
thing about our work and where we go to 
school,” put in Harry, anxiously. 

“I am coming to that,” smiled the pleasant 
young man. “You must be in the store, at the 
boys’ assembly room, every morning at twenty 
minutes after seven o ’clock. I will assign both 
of you to Company A, which goes to school 
every Monday and Thursday morning. On these 
mornings you will form in line in the assembly 
room with the other boys of your section and 
march to the schoolrooms, which are on this 
floor at the opposite side of the building. When 
school is dismissed you are to go directly to 
your departments. At ten minutes past eleven 
every boy must be in his department, or receive 


46 E AERY EAEDING ^MESSENGER ^^45** 


a demerit for loitering. That is, unless he has 
an exceptionally good excuse.’’ 

Mr. Marsh took a number of cards, ruled off 
into little squares, from a pigeon hole in his 
desk. Consulting the slips the boys had given 
him, he wrote their names in the blank space at 
the top, reserved for that purpose. ‘‘These are 
your report cards,” he explained. “If you can 
keep them clear, you will be the kind of boys 
that this store needs. These little squares are 
for demerits. Untidiness, disobedience of or- 
ders, failure in lessons, bad behavior in school, 
in fact, all the things which you know to be 
wrong, but do wilfully, will put black marks on 
this card. Your aisle manager, or your teacher, 
can give them to you, and ten demerits mean 
that you will be sent to Mr. Keene ’s office. He 
is the special superintendent for the boys, and 
it rests with him whether you stay in the store 
or not. But first of all it rests with yourselves, 
boys. It is just as easy to be neat and obedient 
and manly as it is to be untidy, disobedient and 
unruly. Eemember that. If there is anything 
you do not understand or that you wish to know 
you can come to me between five and half past 
five o’clock on any afternoon, after first having 
received permission from your aisle manager to 
do so. Now, are there any questions you wish 
to ask before going to your departments?” 

“How much time do we have for lunch?” 
asked Teddy. 


A SURPRISE AND A DISAPPOINTMENT 47 


‘‘Forty-five minutes. Your aisle manager 
will set the time for your lunch hours. There is 
an employees ^ restaurant in the store where you 
can buy a substantial lunch for ten cents. 

“I should like to ask, sir, what wages we are 
to receive?’’ was Harry’s pertinent question. 

‘ ‘ Three dollars a week. We start all our boys 
at that salary. If they make good, they are sure 
of a fifty cent increase within six months after 
they start to work.” 

Harry vowed mentally that he would “make 
good,” if such a thing were possible. He made 
no response to Mr. Marsh’s statement, as it 
seemed to call for none. 

“I will send a messenger with you to your 
departments. Here, Alec.” Mr. Marsh ad- 
dressed a tall, thin lad seated at a little desk 
near the end of the room. “Take this boy to 
Department 40. Take him straight to Mr. Duf- 
field. Then show this boy,” indicating Harry, 
“to Mr. Barton at exchange desk Number 10. 
Tell him I am sending him a boy. He asked Mr. 
Keene for one yesterday morning.” With a 
friendly smile at Harry and Teddy the pleasant 
young man handed the boys their cards. ‘ ‘ Here 
are your honor rolls. Keep them clean, ’ ’ he ad- 
monished. “All right, Alec.” He nodded to 
the messenger. 

The tall, thin boy started otf at a quickstep, 
followed by the two latest recruits to the great 
store of Martin Brothers. 


48 HARRY EAEBING --^MESSENGER *^45^^ 


‘‘Say, he^s some fellow, ain^t lieT’ remarked 
Teddy, as he hustled to keep up with their 
guide ^s lengthy stride* 

“Who, Mr. Marsh? You just better believe 
he is,’’ was the emphatic tribute. 

“He’s pretty smart. He looked at our names 
when we handed him our slips and he knew right 
away which of us was which,” went on Teddy. 

“What he don’t know about boys ain’t worth 
knowing. The fellows here all think he’s the 
candy kid. Mr. Keene’s pretty good to us, but 
there’s only one Mr. Marsh.” 

“What is his position?” asked Harry, cur- 
iously. 

“Oh, he’s Mr. Keene’s assistant, but he does 
most of the lookin’ after the boys.” 

“Is the house furnishings department a nice 
place to work?” asked Teddy, abruptly. 

“Not for mine,” was the slangy retort. “I 
wouldn’t call hustling pans and kettles a cinch. 
Still, it’s better than workin’ for old Piggy Bar- 
ton at Number 10. Say, I’ll bet that old crab 
just hates himself.” 

“What does this Mr. Barton do?” queried 
Harry apprehensively. 

“He’s the meanest aisle manager in the store. 
You want to watch yourself or you’ll get ten 
demerits in about ten minutes. Every boy that 
works for him gets fired. It ain’t always the 
fellow’s fault, either. I know of two fellows he 
canned, all right enough. ’ ’ 


A SURPRISE AND A DISAPPOINTMENT 49 


Teddy grinned at the slang expression 
“canned.’^ It happened to he new to him. He 
had a vision of the two helpless messengers 
being forcibly bottled, and the humor of the idea 
appealed to him immensely. Harry’s face had 
fallen a trifle. Just when he had built up high 
ideals of his future usefulness in the store it 
was rather discouraging to know that he must 
begin his work under such a disagreeable 
person. 

‘‘I’m going to try very hard to get along with 
Mr. Barton,” he said bravely, smothering the 
sudden pang of disappointment that seized him. 

The thin boy grinned, knowingly, but made no 
answer. Just then they brought up in front of 
an elevator. During the descent to the base- 
ment nothing further was said on the subject of 
Mr. Barton. The two boys followed their guide 
through a sea of millinery and women’s cloth- 
ing and made port at last in the land of house 
furnishings. 

“There’s Mr. Duflield now.” The tall, thin 
boy conducted Harry and Teddy to one corner 
of the department where a short, stout man with 
gray hair and a red face was talking to a sales- 
man. ‘ ‘ Come on here. ’ ’ He marched Teddy up 
to the stout little man with, “Here’s a new boy 
for your department. Mr. Marsh sent him. 
Come along.” This last conunand was ad- 
dressed to Harry. 

“In a minute,” returned Harry tranquilly. 


50 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


‘‘Ted, I’ll wait for you to-night where we met 
this morning.” 

Teddy had only time for a quick, backward 
nod as he followed Mr. Duffield down the aisle 
between rows of shining kitchen ware. Harry 
turned and accompanied his companion up a 
nearby stairway and down the main arcade. 
Just off the broad aisle his guide stopped and 
peered about him. “There he is.” He hustled 
Harry past a long row of glass cases filled with 
shining silver. A tall man was standing with 
his back to the boys. He was writing on a 
salesman’s book with a blue pencil. Then he 
said loudly, “You ought to be more careful.” 
The harsh tones chilled Harry through and 
through. There was something familiar, too, 
about that grim, uncompromising back. 

“Mr. Barton,” began the messenger. “Mr. 
Marsh told me to tell you ” 

The tall figure wheeled about and to his 
amazement Harry found himself staring at the 
man whom Teddy had thoughtlessly dubbed 
“some crank,” and who had mistakenly laid the 
untimely remark at Harry Harding’s door. 


CHAPTEE V 


FRIENDS AND FOES 

H AEEY HAEDING^S heart sank as he 
stood before Mr. Barton. It was evi- 
dent from the frowning glance which 
the aisle manager bestowed upon him that he 
had recognized him, furthermore that he be- 
lieved Harry to be the boy who had called him 
a crank. 

‘‘Let me see your card,’^ snapped Mr. Bar- 
ton. 

Harry instantly handed his card to the aisle 
manager. 

“Your number’s 45; just remember that. 
When I call you, come on the jump. I’ve no 
time to waste on idle, disobedient boys. You 
are to stay at this exchange desk whenever you 
are not sent on an errand. If a customer brings 
an article into the store to be exchanged, on a 
cash sale, you are to wait until the exchange 
clerk makes out a credit slip. Then you must 
take the slip and the article to the department 
to be signed in stock. You are to do whatever 


52 HARRY HARDING -^MESSENGER **45^* 


the exchange clerk or I tell you to do, and you 
are to step lively. No grumbling or excuses.’’ 
He eyed Harry severely. 

‘‘I will try, sir,” Harry answered in quiet, 
respectful tones. 

“You’ll have to do more than try, if you ex- 
pect to stay at this desk,” retorted Mr. Barton. 
‘ ‘ Here, Miss Welch, is a new boy for you. ’ ’ He 
addressed the young woman at the exchange 
desk, then stalked off down the aisle. 

The girl smiled winningly at the lad, then 
said, ‘ ^ What ’s your name, son f ” 

“Harry Harding, ma’am.” The smile went 
straight to Harry’s sore little heart. Keenly 
sensitive, the harsh words of the aisle manager 
had cut him to the quick. If only Teddy hadn’t 
made that unlucky remark, he thought mourn- 
fully. Then he could have started fairly with 
Mr. Barton. Now Mr. Barton believed him to 
be a rude and disrespectful boy, and would treat 
him accordingly until he proved that he was 
neither. Harry threw back his shoulders and 
made a firm resolution to win Mr. Barton’s good 
will. He would be prompt, courteous and obed- 
ient, and “in time” Mr. Barton would learn to 
trust him, perhaps like him. 

Harry looked shyly at Miss Welch. He hoped 
she would like him. She was so pretty, with 
her big, blue eyes and pink cheeks, and how 
gracefully her thick, black hair curled about 
her forehead! j 


FRIENDS AND FOES 


53 


‘‘What’s on your mind, son?” she asked, 
noting the boy’s timid scrutiny. “Cheer up. 
Don’t look so sad. That old grouch. Barton, is 
enough to give anyone the blues, but just re- 
member he can’t eat you, or kill you, or do any- 
thing worse than scold you. He never opens 
his mouth to say a pleasant word. We’re all 
used to him down here. ’ ’ 

“He — he — doesn’t like me,” stammered 
Harry. 

“He doesn’t like anybody. He even hates 
himself,” declared the girl. 

“He thinks I called him a crank,” Harry 
colored slightly, as he made this admission. 

“When did all this happen?” The sympa- 
thetic exchange clerk elevated her eyebrows in 
surprise. 

“Yesterday morning. I was waiting in the 
employment office to see Mr. Keene. There was 
another boy sitting there waiting, too. Mr. 
Barton was in the office talking to Mr. Keene. 
When he left the office he looked so cross that 
the boy said, ‘ some crank, ’ and he heard it. He 
thought I said it. ’ ’ 

“Good for the Koy that said it,” laughed Miss 
Welch. “I’m glad smarty Barton heard it. 
Now he knows what other people think of him. 
I’m sorry you got blamed, though. Why don’t 
you tell him you didn’t say it?” 

Harry shook his head. In his recital of the 
incident he had been careful not to mention 


54 EAREY BARBING ME 8 SEN GEE 


Teddy as the real transgressor. ‘‘I’d rather 
not say anything. Maybe he’ll forget about it 
if he sees me trying hard to please him.” 

“You couldn’t please him if you gave him a 
million dollars,” was the discouraging infor- 
mation. ‘ ‘ But never mind, kid. I ’ll see that he 
don ’t bite your head off. I ’m not afraid of him. 
He isn’t afraid of me, neither,” she added with 
a giggle. “Still, it takes the Irish to hand him 
one, once in a while. ’ ’ 

“Are you Irish?” asked Harry. 

“Irish as can be. Don’t I look it? And proud 
of it, at that. Now you just listen to me, Harry. 
Keep out of Mr. Barton’s way as much as you 
can. If there’s anything you don’t know, ask 
me. Now you’d better take a walk around the 
jewelry and the book department and find out 
where you’re at. Size up ‘jewelry’ first and 
then come back here. I may have something for 
you to do. If I don’t need you, you can chase 
yourself over into the books for a walk around. 
If you hear me call ‘45’ at any time, then come 
over here as fast as your feet’ll let you.*” 
“Thank you for being so kind. I certainly 
will try hard to please you.’' Harry forgot 
his shyness. This pretty girl with her sharp 
tongue and slang phrases was quite different 
from his meek, quiet little mother, but he felt 
somehow that she had the same warm heart. 

“Listen to the kid. ” Margaret Welch beamed 
on Harry and made a mental resolve that old 


FRIENDS AND FOES 


55 


cross-patch would have to let him alone or set- 
tle with her. And thus Harry Harding began 
his store life by making an enemy and a friend. 

In the meantime, Teddy Burke, greatly to his 
displeasure, had been left to thrive or languish 
among the kettles and pans. There was little 
danger of Teddy languishing. His was a dis- 
position that longed to be up and doing. House 
furnishings were altogether too tame to suit 
his active tastes. Still, there might be a chance 
for a little fun. Teddy eyed the red-faced, gray- 
haired aisle man and decided that he wasn’t 
very cross, and quite easy. Now that he was 
away from Harry’s subduing influence, his mis- 
chievous nature began to come to the surface 
and his bright black eyes roved speculatively 
about the department. 

“What’s your name, boy?” asked Mr. Duf- 
field, in placid tones. 

‘ ‘ Teddy Burke — sir. ’ ’ Teddy tardily remem- 
bered the sir, but forgot to say Theodore. 

“Well, Teddy, you are to make yourself gen- 
erally useful in this department. Ho you think 
you can do that?” 

“Oh, yes, sir,” was Teday’s confident an- 
swer. 

“Stay right in your department, where we 
can get you when we need you. No running off 
the floor, unless I give you permission. I don’t 
want a boy here who says, H can’t,’ or ‘I haven’t 


56 HAREY HAEBING -^MESSENGER 


time/ when he^s asked to do something. I want 
a pleasant, willing boy. Understand?’^ 

‘‘Yes, sir,” murmured Teddy, rather meekly. 
The red-faced little man didn’t seem quite so 
easy. There was a ring of finality in his voice 
that meant business. Just then a monotonous 
voice was heard calling, “Mr. Duf -field, Mr. 
Duf-field,” and the aisle manager trotted off to- 
ward the sound, leaving Teddy to his own de- 
vices. He sidled up to a table of blue and white 
kitchen ware and surveyed it with contemptuous 
eyes. How the fellows in school would tease him 
if they knew where he was. They would call him 
“kitchen mechanic” and “Bridget,” and any 
other appropriate names that happened to come 
to their minds. Teddy’s unhappy reflections 
were broken in upon by a peremptory voice, 
“Here, boy.” Teddy turned toward the sound 
and saw a salesman beckoning to him. The lit- 
tle, red-haired boy obeyed the call with alacrity. 
Mischievous though he might be, Teddy, thanks 
to Harry’s earnest views of good service, had 
made up his mind to do his best. 

“Take these over to the wrapping desk. It’s 
all the way back, behind that partition.” The 
man piled Teddy’s thin, wiry arms high with 
cooking utensils. 

“Don’t drop ’em,” he directed, “and don’t 
lose the checks.” 

The boy started off jauntily enough. The 
granite-ware utensils had been piled one upon 


FRIENDS AND FOES 


57 


another in a huge dishpan. On the very top 
of the lot was a stewpan with a long handle. 
Before Teddy had proceeded ten feet, it slid 
o:ff the pile to the floor with a protesting rattle. 
Teddy glanced quickly about. He wondered if 
anyone had seen him drop the pan. There was 
no one near the long aisle through which he 
walked, except a demonstrator, who was so busy 
cooking something on a shining hot-plate that 
she paid no attention to him. Setting down his 
load on the end of a table piled with similar 
goods, he picked up the offending stewpan and 
put it in place. He had barely started when off 
it slid again. ‘ H 11 fix you, ’ ’ he muttered. Seiz- 
ing it savagely he measured it with his eye, then 
jamming it firmly down upon his head, pro- 
ceeded calmly up the aisle, looking not unlike a 
small helmeted knight. 

‘^Boy!^^ A horrified voice checked Teddy’s 
triumphal progress, causing him to let the whole 
armful of kitchen ware clatter to the floor. Bear- 
ing down upon him strode a tall, loose- jointed 
man, whose arms seemed to flap as he walked. 

‘‘Take that pan off your head. Take it off, 
I say!” He pointed dramatically toward the 
stewpan, still perched upon Teddy’s red hair. 
Two sales-girls and a customer passed by. The 
girls giggled outright. The customer, a stout, 
comfortable-looking woman, smiled. 

The pan came ofi Teddy’s head in a twinkling. 
“It wouldn’t stay on the pile,” he murmured,, 


58 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER *^45^* 


but bis eyes were dancing. He stooped to gather 
up his fallen wares. 

‘‘Look at me,’’ commanded the man. “How 
long have you been in this department ? ” 

“ ’Bout half an hour.” Far from being 
abashed, Teddy straightened up and eyed his 
questioner. He was not thinking about what 
he had done. He could still see the tall man 
flapping toward him, looking for all the world 
like a funny scarecrow he had once seen in a 
play. He had to scowl to keep from laughing. 

“Well, let me tell you, young man, you won’t 
be here half an hour longer, if I catch you at 
any more such tricks. Do you think a customer 
wants a stewpan that a boy has been using for 
a head piece? What do you suppose our cus- 
tomers will say about Martin Brothers’ store, if 
we allow our boys to disgrace us in that fash- 
ion?” 

Teddy hung his head, but, wise child that he 
was, said nothing. 

“What is your name and your number? Mr. 
Keene must hear of this. He is responsible for 
putting such boys as you in the store.” 

Teddy gave his name and number, which was 
65, and the tall man flapped off down the aisle 
with the air of one who has done his duty, leav- 
ing poor little Number ’65 to collect his scat- 
tered burden. 

“You better watch yourself, kid.” The 
laughing voice caused Teddy to straighten up. 


FRIENDS AND FOES 


59 


the big dishpan in his hand. A young man with 
hair as red as Teddy ^s own and twinkling blue 
eyes was regarding him amiably. “That^s Mr. 
Seymour, the floor superintendent.’^ 

‘‘I guess his name oughta be talk more,” 
grumbled Teddy, reaching for the last spilled 
article and setting it down hard. ‘‘Stewpan 
hats aren’t goin’ to be the style this year,” he 
grinned, placing the troublesome pan where it 
could not roll off. 

^‘You’re a funny one,” commented the sales- 
man. ‘‘You and I are in the same class when it 
comes to red hair. I’ll bet you’re chuck full of 
mischief. I used to be, too, when I was a kid like 
you.” 

“I guess you ain’t got over it yet,” said 
Teddy slyly. ‘ ‘ Say, ’ ’ the young man ’s friendly 
manner invited confidence, “will that guy report 
me to Mr. Keene ? ’ ’ 

“He will if he happens to think of it again, 
but it’s not likely he’ll remember. He’s a lot 
on his mind all the time. He looks grouchy, but 
he’s not so bad. Now you better get over to 
that desk with that stuff. Got your checks?” 

“Yep.” Teddy exhibited them, clutched in 
one hand. 

“All right. Eun along, youngster.” Teddy 
had also made a friend, and a true one. 

Teddy reached the desk without further mis- 
hap. T^en he returned to his department, he 
heard Mr. Duffield calling, “Boy, boy,” and 


60 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ‘^45^* 


from that moment on his work began in earnest. 
Being as qnick-witted as he was mischievous, it 
did not take Teddy long to get his bearings. By 
the time the morning was over he had explored 
every corner of the department, and knew the 
location of the wrapping and exchange desks, 
the buyer ^s office and the names of several sales 
persons. At half -past twelve he was told that 
he might go to lunch. The red-haired salesman, 
whose name was Samuel Hickson, showed him 
the way to the men^s time desk and by following 
three boys who were bound for the lunch room 
he brought up safely in the big room where the 
men and boys of Martin Brothers’ store could 
obtain a substantial meal for ten cents. 

Teddy’s first move was to look for Harry 
Harding. Despite the fact that he was hungry, 
he wandered up and down among the small 
tables set for from four to eight persons, his 
sharp, black eyes darting alertly about the room 
in search of Harry. After ten of his precious 
forty-five minutes had passed, he gave up his 
quest and walked over to where the eatables 
were laid out in tempting rows on a long coun- 
ter. Behind the counter were several women, 
who served the meats and vegetables. The sal- 
ads, bread and desserts were put within conven- 
ient reach. One chose or ordered what one 
wished, and placing it upon a tray carried it to 
a nearby desk, where a cashier inspected it and 
collected the amount due for the luncheon. 


FRIENDS AND FOES 


61 


Then the purchaser was free to carry it to an 
nnoccnpied place at any of the tables and eat 
it at his leisure. 

Teddy spied a sign which read, ‘‘Eegular din- 
ner, 10 cents,’’ and decided to invest his dime. 
He received two slices of bread, a bit of butter, 
a medium-sized piece of roast beef, a boiled 
potato and a small wedge of pie. In spite of 
his disappointment at not seeing Harry, he felt 
quite jubilant over having been able to get as 
much as he could eat for ten cents. If he walked 
home with Harry that night, he would have ten 
cents left from his quarter. That would take 
him and Harry to the movie theatre across the 
street, where “The Outlaw’s Last Stand” was 
showing, and one could see six reels for five 
cents. 

Eising so early had given Teddy a keen appe- 
tite for dinner and it did not take him long to 
dispose of it. He found he still had twenty min- 
utes to do as he pleased, so he wandered about 
the lunch room watching wistfully several tables 
where merry little companies of boys were talk- 
ing and laughing over their lunch. 

“Wish I knew some of those fellows,” was 
his thought. His eyes still on a group of four 
particularly lively boys at a small table, he for- 
got for a second to steer a safe course among 
the lads who were passing back and forth with 
trays. 

‘ ^ Crash ! ” He came into full collision with a 


62 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER 


stout boy who was hurrying from the opposite 
direction with a full tray. 

‘‘Now see what youVe done/^ exploded the 
stout boy angrily. The wreck of a ten-cent din- 
ner lay scattered over the floor. Only one dish 
had been broken. The plate on which reposed 
the piece of beef. The other dishes were still 
whole. 

“I — I — didnT mean to,’’ faltered Teddy. 

“You big elephant. You did it on purpose,” 
scolded the fat boy. 

“Huh!” snorted Teddy, his own temper ris- 
ing. “I guess you look more lil^e an elephant 
than I do.” 

By this time a dozen boys had surrounded the 
two belligerents, with others constantly arriv- 
ing. Several men stood laughingly in the back- 
ground. 

“See here, freshie, do you want to fight?” 
blustered the fat boy. “If you do, just call me 
another name and see what happens.” 

“Rhinoceros,” flung back Teddy, white with 
defiance. Both his fists were now doubled men- 
acingly. _ 

“Teddy Burke!” a surprised, disappro^ng 
voice caused Teddy’s eyes to leave the fat boy’s 
face momentarily. Harry Harding was pushing 
his way through the crowd to Teddy ’'s side. 
“What is the matter here, Ted?” 

“Aw, I bumped into this — this fellow and up- 
set his tray and now he wants to lick me for it. 





“WHAT IS THE MATTER HERE, TED?" 
Harry Harding — ” Messenger 45” 


Page 62 



t 

* I 



I • 




FRIENDS AND FOES 


Qd 


I didn’t mean to, bnt he’s so thick he can’t get 
it through his head. ’ ’ 

‘‘He did it a-pnrpose,” sputtered the boy. 
“Now I haven’t any dinner or any more money. 
I gotta have something to eat.” His voice be- 
came a whine. 

“Oh, yon make me tired,” retorted Teddy 
scornfully. “Do you ’spose I wasn’t goin’ to 
pay for your old dinner? Here’s a dime. Go 
buy another, and keep still. ’ ’ He handed the fat 
boy his dime. 

The latter clutched it eagerly. “But my din- 
ner cost fifteen cents,” he objected, as he pock- 
eted the silver. 

At this moment one of the women employed 
in the lunch room had come forward to clear 
away the wreck. 

“Wait a minute, please.” Harry Harding 
began an examination of the food on the floor. 
Then he turned to the woman. ‘ ‘ Isn ’t this a ten- 
cent dinner?” he asked. “Is there anything 
besides the regular dinner there?” 

The woman viewed the wreckage. “ It ’s a ten- 
cent dinner, all right,” she nodded. 

Harry’s eyes were full of contempt as he 
turned to the fat boy, who, caught in a lie, col- 
ored deeply, his small, shifting eyes refusing 
to meet Harry’s. Those who had crowded 
around the two began looking and voicing their 
disapproval. 

“Pretty small, isn’t he,” sneered a young 


64 HARRY EARBING ---MESSENGER ^*45^^ 


man. ‘‘He was trying to work that other boy 
for a nickel.’’ 

‘ ‘ Serve him right if he had to go without his 
dinner,” commented a boy of about Harry’s 
own age. 

‘ ‘ Come on, Ted. ” Taking the red-haired boy 
by the arm, Harry turned his back on the dis- 
honest boy. The surrounding group dissolved, 
by magic, leaving the fat youth standing alone, 
a deep scowl darkening his disagreeable face. 

“See here, Ted,” began Harry as they walked 
down the long room, “did you start that fuss?” 

“Course I didn’t,” flung back Teddy in indig- 
nation. “I was goin’ along, minding my own 
business, when I bumped into that fathead. 
Why didn’t he look where he was goin’?” 

“Why didn’t you look where you were go- 
ing?” questioned Harry slyly. 

“I guess that’s right, too,” admitted Teddy. 
“Still, he needn’ta made all that pow-wow. I 
was goin’ to make his old dinner up to him. 
I had ten cents left of my quarter and I was 
goin’ to take you to the movies when we got out 
to-night. Then he had to come along and spoil 
it all.” 

“I couldn’t go to the movies to-night, anyhow, 
Ted,” said Harry, “but it’s good in you to think 
of me.” 

“Why not?” demanded Teddy. 

“I’ve got to go straight home. Mother will 
be waiting for me. She’ll want to know how I 


FRIENDS AND FOES 


65 


made out to-day. Your mother will probably 
want to know, too. ’ ^ 

‘‘Oh, she won^t care,’^ retorted Ted. “She’s 
too busy goin’ to a club she belongs to, to care 
what I do. If I ain’t there at supper time she 
leaves my supper on the table or in the oven 
for me and beats it oif to her old club. They’re 
always havin’ meetin’s and parties and things. ” 
Harry cast a quick glance of sympathy at his 
companion. He could not imagine life without 
his mother ’s interest in all he did. He made a 
secret resolve to take Teddy home with him as 
often as he would go. Teddy should share his 
mother. Then a bright idea came to him. “Why 
don’t you tell your mother what you do and 
where you go ? ” he proposed. ‘ ‘ If she got used 
to hearing about it she might want to know. 
My mother always likes to know all I do. It 
helps a fellow a lot if his mother’s that way.” 
“I s’pose it does,” returned Teddy soberly. 
“My goodness, I forgot to buy my dinner!” 
exclaimed Harry. ‘ ‘ Have you eaten yours ? ’ ’ 
“Yep. It’s time for me to go back to my de- 
partment. I had a lot to tell you, but it ’ll have 
to keep till to-night. Wait for me on the cor- 
ner.” 

‘ ‘ I will. I ’ve a lot to tell you, too. ’ ’ 

“So long,” nodded Teddy. 

The two boys separated. Teddy left the room, 
while Harry went over to buy his dinner. 
Twenty minutes of his precious time had al- 


66 HARRY HARDING’-- MESSENGER ^^45^’ 


ready gone. He carried his tray of food to a 
nearby table and sat down to eat it. But he had 
hardly settled himself when he heard a surly 
voice in his ear, ‘‘You think you’re pretty 
smart, don’t you? Well, next time you butt in 
where it ain’t any of your business you’ll be 
sorry.” 

Harry whirled in his chair to see the sulky 
fat boy directly behind him, glowering down at 
him. His steady blue eyes measured the other 
with a long look of quiet contempt and indiffer- 
ence. Then he turned his back squarely upon 
the disgruntled boy and went on eating his din- 
ner. 


CHAPTER VI 


AT THE END OF THE DAY 

UWT ELL, how did you get along this af- 
ternoon I ’ ^ was Harry ’s greeting, as 
^ ^ the two hoys met on the corner after 
work. It was fifteen minutes to six. The store 
closed at half past five o ’clock, but the boys of 
the store were obliged to form in line in the as- 
sembly room and pass out of the building, re- 
porting their numbers at their special time desk 
as they went. 

‘‘Oh, pretty good. Better ’n this morning. 
Got a call down first thing,” confessed Teddy. 

“You did! I’m surprised.” Harry didn’t 
look in the least surprised. “What could you 
possibly do to get a scolding?” 

“Aw, quit teasing me,” retorted Teddy. He 
related his first disastrous errand to the wrap- 
ping desk. As might be expected, Harry 
laughed. He had a mental vision of Teddy pa- 
rading down the aisle in his granite-ware hel- 
met, his arms full of kitchen utensils. 

“You wouldn’ta thought it was quite so 

67 


68 HARRY HARDING-- MESSENGER ^^45” 


funny if you^d seen tli-at great tall giratfe comin^ 
down the aisle at you/’ grumbled Teddy. 

“I don’t suppose I would,” Harry regarded 
the red-haired boy -smilingly. Still, you 
couldn’t; bl*ame him very much. You’d -better 
be careful -about calling people -pet names, 
though, Ted.” Harry grew serious. ‘‘You got 
me into trouble by calling Mr. Barton a crank, 
then you called that fat boy an elephant. I must 
say, the name suits him, only it’s rather hard 
on the elephant. Now you’ve named another 
man a girafe. First thing you know, you’ll 
have a zoo, and when they hear you calling their 
names the whole menagerie will come at you and 
gobble you up.” 

“You talk like a fairy story,” grinned Teddy. 
“Don ’t worry. I won ’t let anyone hear me call- 
ing ’em pet names. I’m sorry about that fel- 
low I called ‘some crank. ’ If his ears had been 
in the right place he wouldn’ta thought you said 
it. I’ll go to him and tell him I’m the boy that 
said it. He may treat you pretty mean.'” 

“You’ll do nothing of the sort.” Harry’s 
lips set with decision. “Mr. Barton will prob- 
ably forget about it. I don ’t believe he ’ll be so 
very mean to me. There ’s a nice young lady at 
the exchange desk. Her name is Miss Welch. 
She has been real good to me to-day. She told 
me not to mind if Mr. Barton was cross. ” 

“There’s a nice man in the old pans and ket- 
tles department,” returned Teddy. “His 


AT THE END OF THE DAY 


69 


name’s Hickson and he has red hair, too. He 
says he used to act like me when he was a boy.” 

‘‘Then we’ve each made a friend, haven’t 
we?” commented Harry. “You’re better off 
than I am, though, Ted. You haven’t anyone 
doAvn on you, and I’m on the bad side of two 
persons.” 

“Yes, and I’m to blame,” said Ted savagely. 
“You shoulda let me alone with that fat kid up 
in the lunch room. I ’da punched him and ” 

“Been discharged,” finished Harry. 

“Well, he wouldn’t ’ve jumped on you, any- 
how,” muttered Teddy. 

Harry regarded the little, red-haired boy with 
genuine affection. This sudden revelation of 
regard for him on Teddy’s part pleased him 
greatly. 

“You’re a good chum, Teddy,” he said. 
‘ ‘ Don ’t you worry about that fat boy. He won ’t 
bother either of us again. He’s a coward.” 

The boys trudged along the busy city streets, 
talking earnestly of their day’s work. In spite 
of the fact that they had been on their feet all 
day, neither of them felt tired. The novelty of 
their first day’s work had caused them to for- 
get themselves. When at last they separated 
at the corner where their ways diverged, Teddy 
said eagerly, “Well, it’s been some day, all 
right. I’d a good deal rather work than go to 
school. Say, if I can get up early enough to- 
morrow morning I’ll meet you on this corner at 


70 HARRY HARDING -^MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


seven o’clock. If yon don’t see me, don’t 
wait.” 

‘^All right,” nodded Harry. ‘‘Good-bye, 
Teddy. Don’t forget to tell your mother all 
abont yonr first day in the store.” 

“I will,” promised Teddy. Then he was 
off down a side street like a flash, leaving Harry 
to pnrsne the rest of his walk home alone. 

The pleasant aroma of newly-made coffee and 
broiling beefsteak greeted his nostrils as he 
opened the door of their tiny apartment. His 
mother was so busily engaged in bending over 
a pan of biscuits which she was in the act of re- 
moving from the oven that she did not hear the 
boy enter. Slipping quietly up to her he wound 
both arms about her waist, just as she straight- 
ened up. 

Crash ! The pan of biscuits fell to the floor, 
but obligingly landed right side up and in the 
pan. 

“Mercy, child, how you startled me!” ex- 
claimed Mrs. Harding. “ It ’s a good thing those 
biscuits landed right side up with care. Well, 
dearie, how did you get along to-day? I sup- 
pose you got the position, or you’d have been 
home long ago. ’ ’ Mrs. Harding set the biscuits 
safely on the end of the table and, turning, gave 
Harry an affectionate hug and kiss. 

“Yes, Mother, I’m a working man at last. 
My, but I’m hungry and how good the supper 
smells! I didn’t know until this minute just 


AT THE END OF THE DAY 


71 


how starved I was. It^s splendid in you to 
have beefsteak. It ^s just what a hungry fellow 
likes best. And creamed potatoes, tooP’ He 
had stepped over to the stove, lifted the lid of a 
saucepan, and was peering into it. 

thought we could afford to have a little 
beefsteak to-night. I knew you’d be hungry. 
I had to ask the man in the meat market to trust 
me for it until Saturday, but I wanted you to 
have a good supper, son. Let’s sit right down 
as soon as you’ve washed your face and hands. 
Everything ’s ready. Then you can tell me what 
happened to you to-day.” 

‘‘I’ll be ready, too, in a jiffy, declared 
Harry. Going over to a stand on which stood 
a china bowl and pitcher, Harry took the pitcher 
and filled it with water from the sink. One room 
served the Hardings as kitchen and dining- 
room. Pouring the water into the bowl, he be- 
gan a vigorous splashing. Five minutes later, 
his boyish face shining with health and clean- 
liness, he seated himself opposite his mother 
at the table. 

'‘Now, eat first and talk afterwards,” she 
commanded, as she heaped her son’s plate with 
beefsteak and creamed potatoes and passed it 
to him. 

When his first hunger had been appeased, 
Harry began an account of the day’s happen- 
ings. His mother listened in interested silence. 
Harry said nothing about Mr. Barton’s evident 


72 HARRY HAEBING ^MESSENGER ^*45^^ 


dislike for him, or of the fat boy who had sworn 
to ^‘be even^’ with him. He felt that these tales 
were better left untold. His mother would 
merely worry if she knew that things had not 
gone quite smoothly. Besides, it was a poor 
sort of boy who couldn’t fight his own battles. 

Mrs. Harding laughed merrily over Teddy’s 
triumphant march down the aisle in his stew- 
pan headgear. ‘‘He must be a funny little boy, 
Harry,” she said. “You must bring him home 
with you to supper, some night.” 

“Oh, may I?” Harry’s eyes shone. “That 
will be fine. I know Ted can come. He says 
his mother lets him do whatever he pleases. Do 
you know, Mothery, ” this was Harry’s pet name 
for his mother, “I feel a little bit sorry for Ted, 
to think his mother doesn’t make a fuss over him 
like you do over me. She belongs to some kind 
of a club, and she’s always going oif to it, so 
Ted hardly sees her in the evenings. You see, 
he isn’t so poor as we are. He doesn’t have to 
work if he doesn’t want to. He can go to school. 
His father ’s dead, too, but his mother has money 
enough to take care of her and Teddy so long 
as they both live. He just started to work be- 
cause he didn’t like school. Nobody cares much 
what he does.” 

“The poor little mite!” sympathized Mrs. 
Harding. “You just bring him home with you. 
I’ll mother him.” 

“You can’t help liking him. He’s such a jolly, 


AT THE END OF THE DAY 


73 


funny little fellow/’ was Harry’s enthusiastic 
reply. 

But while the Hardings were discussing him, 
Teddy Burke was trying to put into execution 
his new plan of telling his mother everything. 
The moment he entered the hall of the two-story 
brick house which his mother owned, he hurried 
up the stairs to the sitting room. He drew aside 
the portiere and peeped in, then looked disap- 
pointed. There was no one there. Then he set 
off down the hall to her bedroom. The door was 
closed. He listened for an instant, then tapped 
on the door. 

‘Hs that you, Teddy?” came in quick, busi- 
ness-like tones. ‘ ^ What do you want ? ’ ’ 
want to see you. Can’t I come in?” 

^‘Yes, but don’t bother me. I am going to a 
concert that the Mozart Club is giving to-night 
and I’m in a hurry. You’ll find your supper 
downstairs in the oven. I couldn’t wait for 
you. ’ ’ 

Teddy had entered the room while his mother 
was talking. He found her sitting before her 
dressing table in a kimono, arranging her hair. 

just want to tell you about the kind of a 
day I had in the store,” he began bravely. ‘‘I 
started to work ” 

‘‘You can tell me about it when I come home 
to-night, dear. I haven’t time to listen to you 
now. I am to nieet Mrs. Andrews at the club 
at seven o’clock and I’ll never get there on. 


74 HARRY HARDING ---MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


time if you bother me. Eun downstairs and get 
your supper. That’s a good boy.” 

‘‘All right,” Teddy sighed, and turning on 
his heel went downstairs to the kitchen. He 
paused before the kitchen range and stared at it 
with a scowl. “I knew it wouldn’t work,” he 
muttered. “Harry’s lucky. I’ll try it again 
to-morrow. If I keep it up, maybe she’ll listen 
to me, even if I do bother her.” Then he set 
to work to carry his lonely supper to the table, 
and was soon eating it with the appetite of a 
very hungry little boy, his brief disappointment 
forgotten. 

But though Teddy did not then know it, the 
seed had fallen on good ground, for Mrs. Burke 
could not help wondering as she dressed for 
the concert what had caused her usually non- 
communicative son to be so ready to talk. A 
sudden vague regret that she had sent him away 
swept over her, and as she hurried downstairs 
to keep her appointment she found time to stop 
in the dining-room and say, “I’m sorry I have 
to hurry away, dear. But I wish you’d tell me 
all about the store to-morrow.” Stooping, she 
kissed Teddy’s cheek and hurried off to the Mo- 
zart Club, leaving a happy little boy to murmur, 
“Maybe it’s goin’ to work, after all. She cer- 
tainly is some mother.” 


CHAPTER VII 


TEDDY COMES INTO HIS OWN 

T heir second day in the store passed ranch 
more qnickly than the first, for Harry 
Harding and Teddy Burke. In the first 
place everything did not seem so new and 
strange. To Teddy, his realm of kettles and 
pans looked fairly familiar, and he felt quite as 
though he had known Mr. Hickson, the red- 
haired salesman, all his life. Harry, however, 
was not at ease at the exchange desk. It seemed 
to him that Mr. Barton perpetually hovered 
near the desk, ordering everyone about, his 
heavy, black eyebrows almost meeting in a fero- 
cious scowl. Even Miss Welch, the pretty clerk, 
could not escape his fault-finding. Above the 
hum of the busy departments his loud, strident 
voice was constantly to be heard, and wherever 
he moved he left behind him a trail of dissatis- 
faction and muttered rebellion. 

Harry had fully determined to obey the 
crabbed man’s orders so promptly that he 
should have no room for complaint. All day 

75 


76 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER ^*45^^ 


he was strictly on the alert, and though Mr. 
Barton spoke sharply to him whenever he de- 
manded his services, he found no room to criti- 
cize the clear-eyed, obedient lad. 

Harry went to lunch earlier that day and 
made his way to the lunch room with the feel- 
ing that if he kept on as he had done that morn- 
ing, Mr. Barton would understand that he was 
trying to do his best. As he entered the long 
room he glanced quickly about to see if the fat 
boy of his yesterday’s encounter had arrived. 
Yes, there he was at the far end of the room, 
greedily gobbling his dinner, his head bent low 
over his food. When Harry had secured his own 
tray of food, he took good care to put the length 
of the room between them. Though far from be- 
ing afraid of the disagreeable youth, he had no 
desire to precipitate another scene. Meanwhile, 
he kept one eye on the door for Teddy, who was 
due in the lunch room some minutes later than 
himself. He intended to go forward and meet 
his chum with the idea of steering him clear of 
trouble. To his relief, however, the belligerent 
fat youth finally rose and shuffled off, disap- 
pearing through the door that led to the stairs. 

Five minutes later Teddy appeared, and hail- 
ing him, Harry pointed to a place at his table 
which he had reserved for his chum. 

^‘Did you meet that fat boy?” was Harry’s 
first question. 

‘‘Nope. Didn’t see the big baby,” replied 


TEDDY COMES INTO HIS OWN 


77 


Teddy contemptuously. ‘‘Did you see him?’’ 

“Yes ; he just left here. I thought you might 
have met him in the hall. I am glad you 
didn’t.” 

“It’s a good thing for him. If I’d seen him 
and he’d said a word to me, I’d have punched 
him, sure,” threatened Teddy. 

‘ ‘ See here, Ted, you had better make up your 
mind here and now to let that boy alone if you 
happen to meet him. He isn’t worth bothering 
with. Certainly he isn’t worth losing your po- 
sition for. If you get into a fight with him, 
you’ll both be discharged. Even though he is 
so hateful, he may have to work to help support 
his family. You wouldn’t like to be the means 
of doing the boy’s mother out of her son’s help, 
would you?” 

‘ ‘ Aw, rats ! He couldn ’t support a mosquito, ’ ’ 
jeered Teddy. “I’ll bet he’s a great, big, spoiled 
kid, that got fired from school just as I did. 
He’s no good.” 

“Then if he’s no good, keep away from him,” 
retorted Harry sharply. 

“Oh, I’m not going to chase after him,” 
grinned Teddy. “Don’t get excited.” 

“I sha’n’t. At least, not over anything like 
that.” Harry smiled in sympathy with Ted- 
dy’s irresistible grin. Then he changed the sub- 
ject abruptly by saying, ‘ ‘ To-morrow is our first 
day to go to^chool, Teddy. Have you forgotten 
it?” 


78 HARRY HARDING -^MESSENGER *^45^* 


‘‘No, I haven’t. I wish I had. I wish when 
to-morrow morning came I’d forget every sin- 
gle thing about school until eleven o’clock. 
What’s the use of going to an old school when 
you ’ve got a j oh ? I know enough already. ’ ’ 

“I don’t,” said Harry earnestly. “I think 
it’s a splendid chance. Why, Ted, we’re lucky 
to have it.” 

“Then I’d rather be unlucky,” asserted 
Teddy stubbornly. “I’d rather hang^ around 
with the old kettles and pans all my life than 
be chased off to a silly school.” 

There was a moment’s silence after Teddy’s 
grumbling speech. Then Harry said, “I hope 
we are put in the same division. ” 

“We won’t be. You know more’n I do, and 
you use better grammar. How far did you go 
in arithmetic?” 

“I was just through percentage when I left 
school,” Harry made reply. 

“You’ve got me beaten a mile. I only went 
as far as decimal fractions. I don’t know much 
about ’em, either. Don’t know that I want to.” 

“Yes, you do. You must try to do your best 
in school, as well as in your department. I 
think if you’d try not to use so much slang, 
you’d find your grammar improved.” Harry 
regarded the red-haired boy with an anxious 
solicitude, that quite took away the impression 
that he was attempting to dictate to his little 
companion. 


TEDDY COMES INTO HIS OWN 


79 


‘‘See here, Harry,’’ Teddy’s black eyes were 
fixed earnestly on the other lad, “if any of the 
fellows I knew at school had handed me a lot of 
goody-goody talk, I’d have told ’em to shut up 
pretty quick, but somehow I don’t mind what 
you say to me. I guess it’s because I like you, 
and I wouldn’t be su ’prised if you are pretty 
near right. I’ll try to get along in the old 
school, just because you want me to.” 

“Will you shake hands on that?” asked 
Harry, extending his hand. 

Teddy’s hand shot out instantly to meet Har- 
ry’s. His black eyes were gentle with friendli- 
ness. Then he said almost sheepishly, “I gotta 
go. I’ll see you on the same old corner to- 
night. If you get there first be sure and wait 
for me.” 

The rest of the day went by uneventfully and, 
as agreed, the boys met after the store closed 
and walked part way home together. Both lads 
found themselves a trifle more tired than on 
their first day. For once Tedd.y had the su- 
preme satisfaction of eating supper with his 
mother. Strange to relate, she had no engage- 
ment for the evening, and heard his tales of the 
day’s work with considerable interest. She lis- 
tened closely to Teddy’s description of Harry, 
and his eager assertion that Harry’s mother 
“liked boys a lot” and had told Harry to bring 
him home to supper some night. Teddy could 
hardly believe his ears when his mother saidy 


80 EAERY HARDING ^MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


‘‘Then yon must invite this hoy to our home 
to supper, too/’ 

After the meal they sat together in the liv- 
ing room, Ted reading one of the books in a fav- 
orite series of his, in which a wonderful boy 
hero goes through all sorts of hair-raising ad- 
ventures and bobs up triumphantly at the end 
of the story, while his mother stitched diligently 
on a doyley she had begun months before and 
neglected to finish. Still more wonderful, when 
at nine o ’clock he began to yawn over his book 
and decided to go to bed, she called him to her 
and kissed him good night. 

After her son had gone happily to bed, Mrs. 
Burke began to consider him more seriously 
than she had done for years. She felt a little 
piqued over Teddy’s enthusiastic description 
of Harry and his mother. She wondered if she 
had done right in allowing Teddy to leave school 
and go to work, and she resolved that in future 
she would look after him a little more closely 
than she had in the past. 

Meanwhile, in his own humble home, Harry 
was going over the day’s doings to his own 
mother, entirely unconscious of the blessed 
change his admonition to Teddy Burke to culti- 
vate his mother’s acquaintance had wrought in 
two lives. 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE EECRUITS TO COMPANY A 


0-DAY’S the day!” exclaimed Harry 
I Harding joyfully, as he came within 
^ hailing distance of Teddy Burke, who, 
as usual, had arrived first at the corner on which 
the two boys had met every morning since they 
had begun their work in Martin Brothers’ De- 
partment Store. 

‘‘What day?” demanded Teddy Burke, with 
a purposely blank expression. “To-day’s 
nothin’ but Thursday.” 

“You know very well what day I mean,” 
smiled Harry. “To-day is the day we go to 
school.” 

“Don’t you s’pose I know it?” grumbled 
Teddy. “What made you tell me about it? I 
was trying to forget it. ’ ’ 

Harry laughed. ‘ ‘ Oh, forget you ’ve a grudge 
against school. Maybe it won’t be so bad as 
you think.” 

“Cheer up. The worst is yet to come,” 
grinned Teddy. 


82 HARRY HARDING — ME BSENGER ^^45*^ 


‘‘Exactly; only the worst may turn out to be 
the best. You never can tell.^’ 

“No, you can’t. That’s right. If I’d known 
that this store had a school I ’d have beat it out 
of here pretty quick,” retorted Teddy. 

“I believe you told me that yesterday, and 
the day before that, which was our first day 
in the store,” reminded Harry, his eyes twink- 
ling. 

Teddy made no reply. They had by this time 
reached the men’s entrance to the store and the 
red-haired boy’s eyes roved about, taking in 
everything from the row of time-keepers seated 
behind their high desks to a dilapidated glove 
that someone had dropped on the floor. 

Although the boys entered the store at the 
men’s door, they did not report to the time-keep- 
ers at the men’s desk whose business it was to 
record the male employees’ time, from the mo- 
ment of their arrival until they stepped out into 
the street when their day ’s work was done. The 
entire force of boys was obliged to report each 
day in the assembly room on the second floor to 
a time-keeper there. It was in the assembly 
room that they received a critical looking over 
before going to their departments or to school. 
Here they lined up for a general inspection, 
which included neatness of dress, clean hands 
and faces, and freshly shined shoes. Dark blue 
or black clothing was preferred, but not exacted, 
although the boys were not allowed to wear 


THE RECRUITS TO COMPANY A 


83 


light-colored suits or shoes, or brightly colored 
ties. 

Any untidiness in personal appearance meant 
a black mark on the report card which each boy 
carried. Having been given their cards on the 
day they entered the store, Teddy and Harry 
had had ample time to look them over. They 
had found that the little squares on them were 
made by the divisions ruled off after the words 
untidiness, discourtesy, tardiness, carelessness, 
absence, lying, inattention, loud talking, bad 
language, low average in school, deportment in 
school. These words were printed in regular 
order down the card, while the space after them 
was used for the little ruled squares, each one 
just large enough to hold a blank mark. These 
demerits could be given by either the teacher or 
the aisle manager of the boy who transgressed. 
Once a month these cards passed into the hands 
of Mr. Marsh’s assistant for a general inspec- 
tion and averaging. As Mr. Marsh had already 
explained, ten demerits in one month meant a 
most uncomfortable session in Mr. Keene’s of- 
fice, when the superintendent decided whether 
the offender should be dropped from the store, 
while a lesser number was recorded against him 
and held for future reference. A boy who month 
after month had received from five to eight de- 
merits was also quite likely to find himself with- 
out a position. 

So far, Harry’s and Teddy’s cards remained 


84 HARRY HAEBING^ MESSENGER ^^45^* 


as clean as when Mr. Marsh had handed them to 
the lads. Harry’s had remained so because he 
had doggedly determined to make no mistakes 
or call down upon his head the displeasure of 
the crabbed aisle man, Mr. Barton. Teddy’s 
card had stayed clean by sheer good luck. If 
Mr. Duffield had spied him calmly wearing his 
stewpan crown, it is safe to say that there would 
have been at least one black mark on his card. 
Fortunately, Mr. Seymour was far too busy a 
man to bother about report cards. To be sure, 
he had threatened to report Teddy to Mr. Keene. 
Then he had gone on his way and forgotten all 
about it. So Teddy had escaped a demerit on 
his first day in the store. 

Inspection was hardly over when one of the 
two young men who had charge of the assembly 
room, and whose duty it was to conduct the in- 
spection, called, ‘‘Company A, fall in for 
school.” 

“That’s us,” whispered Harry to Teddy, who 
stood next to him in the line. “Mr. Marsh said 
we’d be in Company A.” 

Teddy nodded disconsolately, as he took his 
place beside Harry in the rapidly forming line. 
He felt that the shades of his old prison were 
about to close around him again. The very 
thought of school made him unhappy. He won- 
dered if his teacher would be as old and as 
cranky as Miss Alton. He supposed she would 
be, and his mischievous, freckled face looked de- 


THE RECRUITS TO COMPANY A 


85 


cidedly solemn as slie marched along beside his 
chnm. 

Out of the assembly room, np a flight of 
stairs, through several departments and 
straight past Mr. Marshes desk went the long 
line of boys. It was the same line Harry and 
Teddy had watched when first they had come 
to Mr. Keene ’s office. Harry gave a little shiver 
of sheer pride as his eyes wandered to the bench 
where he and Teddy had sat and viewed the 
long procession, of which they were now a part. 
It was wonderful to think that they had so 
quickly found places in the work-a-day world. 
Now it remained to them to go ever onward and 
upward to prosperity and success. 

His rapt reflections were disturbed by a sharp 
nudge in the ribs. 

^‘Look who’s here,” muttered Teddy. 

‘ ‘ Where ? Who ? ’ ’ asked Harry in a whisper. 

‘ ‘ The elephant ; old Fatty Felix. There he is, 
waddling along ahead of us,” murmured Ted in 
guarded tones. ''Wouldn’t that make you sick, 
though. Hope he isn’t in my class.” Teddy’s 
voice rose higher as his disgust grew greater. 

"No talking in the line, young man,” came 
the sharp command. Company A was rapidly 
dividing itself into three sections. They had 
reached the southern end of the building, Avhich 
faced on a small side street. This end had been 
reserved for the school rooms. There were 
three of them in a row, each being the size of an 


86 HAEEY HARBIN O’- MESSENGER* ^45^' 


ordinary class-room, and seating comfortably 
twenty-five boys. There were rarely that num- 
ber to a room, however, as each of the three 
companies comprised not more than fifty boys, 
except at the holiday season. But during those 
busy days, school was not in session. 

Both boys glanced sharply about at the sound 
of the voice. A short, severe-looking woman 
with small blue eyes and a sallow complexion 
stared fixed reproval upon them. Teddy 
heart sank. She was even worse than Miss 
Alton, he decided. 

^ ‘Where do you boys belong? Why haven’t 
I seen you before? How long have you been 
in the store?” came the sharp questions. 

“We were taken on last Tuesday, and we were 
told to come to school to-day. This boy is in 
Department 40, and I am at Exchange Desk 
Number 10. ’ ’ Harry spoke in pleasant, respect- 
ful tones. 

“Where are your school slips?” 

“We haven’t any. We ” 

“Go and get tnem.” 

“Where shall we go for them?” 

“To Mr. Marsh, of course. It’s very evident 
you boys were not paying attention to what he 
said to you when you were taken on the store 
messenger force. Look out, or you each will 
get a demerit for inattention. ’ ’ 

Both boys were decidedly embarrassed. Har- 
ry’s pale face was red with confusion. Teddy 


the recruits to company a 


87 


colored hotly under his freckles. His black eyes 
became two belligerent sparks. 

‘‘Shall we go to Mr. Marsh now?’' asked 
Harry qnietly. 

“Yes, and return at once. Don’t play along 
the way. Bring them to me. I shall be in that 
room.” She pointed to the door on the right. 

“B-r-rr!” shivered Teddy, once their backs 
were fairly turned to the woman. “I wonder 
who she is.” 

“I suppose she’s the principal,” returned 
Harry. 

‘ ‘ She makes me tired. How were we to know 
about school slips? It’s Mr. Marsh’s fault for 
not telling us. Why didn’t you tell her that he 
didn’t say anything about ’em?” demanded 
Teddy. 

‘ ‘ Because I didn ’t like to begin that way. I ’d 
rather take the blame than lay it upon him. I’d 
hate to tell tales of anyone who has been so nice 
to us as he has.” 

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt him. He’s a match 
for this old girl.” 

“Teddy Burke!” Harry’s voice carried a 
note of sternness. “Do you think it’s nice to 
call a lady an ‘old girl?’ Suppose someone 
called your mother that. You’d be pretty angry, 
I guess.” 

“Nobody could call my mother that,” flung 
back Teddy. “She’s young and nice, and not a 


88 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER *^45^^ 


bit like that old crank of a principal. I’m going 
to call her the Dragoness.” 

‘‘Well, I don’t suppose your mother is that 
sort,” conceded Harry. Then in spite of his 
reproving words, he could not repress a faint 
giggle. Teddy’s disrespectful appellations were 
so funny. 

Teddy echoed the giggle and racked his brain 
for something else to say about the principal. 
But before he had thought of anything, they had 
arrived at Mr. Marsh’s desk, at which he sat, 
writing^ busily. 

The boys paused beside him. He did not look 
up for a moment. Teddy gave a little impatient 
wriggle. The pleasant young man raised his 
eyes and viewed the lads with a slight frown. 

“You mustn’t come to me at this hour, boys,” 
he reproved. “That fs, unless you were sent 
here on an errand.” 

“The principal of the school sent us down to 
you, sir,” began Harry. “We did not know we 
were obliged to have -school slips. ’ ’ 

Mr. Marsh’s face had grown a trifle stern at 
Harry’s first words. Was it possible that he 
had been mistaken in these boys? Had they 
transgressed so soon? With the last sentence, 
however, his expression changed. 

“Of course you didn’t know. That was my 
fault. I should have told you. Did you tell Miss 
Pierce that I forgot to give them to you?” 

“No, sir,” returned Teddy. “The Drag 


THE RECRUITS TO COMPANY A 


S9 


‘‘We did not think it necessary to tell her, 
sir/’ Harry interrupted Teddy just in time. 
The red-haired boy turned scarlet as a poppy 
and meekly subsided. 

Mr. Marsh studied Harry’s clear, honest face 
for an instant. Moved by a sudden impulse he 
reached forth his hand to Harry. “Thank you, 
my boy,” he said. “My shoulders are broad 
enough to bear just censure. Still I appreciate 
your kindly spirit. Let me tell you something, 
boys. Occasions often arise when it is only fair 
and right for a boy to shield himself, even at 
the expense of someone else, provided that 
someone else is to blame. But the boy who 
can fight his own battles without dramng oth- 
ers into them is worthy of praise. Just remem- 
ber that. Here are your school slips. If you 
feel that you wish to consult me about your af- 
fairs, I am always ready to hear whatever you 
may wish to say to me, between five and half- 
past five o ’clock every afternoon. ’ ’ 

“Thank you, sir.” This from both boys as 
they turned to go. 

“Hm-m,” sniffed Teddy as they started away 
from Mr. Marsh’s desk. “He didn’t shake 
hands with me. ’ ’ 

“I was surprised,” admitted Harry. 

“Te-he,” snickered Teddy. “I came pretty 
near calling that old principal ‘Dragoness’ right 
out. I’d ’a said it, if you hadn’t begun to talk 
so quick.” 


90 EAEEY HAEBING-^MESSENGEE ^*45” 


‘‘Yes, I know it.’^ Harry conld not repress 
a smile. “I don’t suppose it will do the least 
bit of good for me to tell yon again not to give 
people funny names.” 

“Huh!” exploded Teddy, again. “It don’t 
hurt ’em any. They can’t hear ’em.” 

“You might forget yourself as you did to- 
day,” reminded Harry. “How would you like 

it if someone called you ” Harry eyed 

Teddy speculatively — “a red-head.” 

“Well, it’s the truth, isn’t it?” demanded 
Teddy. ‘ ‘ I wouldn ’t care what folks called me, ’ ’ 
he added with a fine air of indifference, “if they 
didn’t call me too early in the morning.” 

“Just wait until someone calls you a name 
and see,” Harry predicted. 

By this time the boys had reached the school 
rooms and conversation between them ceased. 
Entering the room Miss Pierce had designated, 
they tendered their slips to the principal, who 
stood talking to a fair-haired young woman. 
There were*perhaps eighteen boys seated at the 
desks. 

“Which of you is Harry Harding?” she 
asked, examining the slips, then fixing her pale- 
blue eyes on the two boys. 

“lam he, ma’am,” returned Harry. 

“Where did you go to school? What grade 
were you in? How old are you?” came the 
rapid questions. 

Harry answered them in turn. 


THE RECRUITS TO COMPANY A 


91 


shall pnt you in Section I of Company A, 
If you cannot keep up with the class, you will be 
demoted.’’ Then she put Teddy through the 
same brief catechism, assigning him also to Sec- 
tion I, which was the room on the left. 

Obeying her brusque command, ‘‘Come with 
me, boys,” the two lads followed her out of the 
door and into the left-hand class-room. Their 
eyes turned involuntarily toward their new 
teacher. She stood with her back toward them, 
facing her class. At the sound of the opening 
door, she turned her head. Teddy drew a long 
breath of relief. This teacher might be cross, 
but at least she was pretty. She had big, brown 
eyes and soft, fluffy, brown hair, and as she 
nodded good morning to Miss Pierce, her smile 
disclosed white, even teeth, while two deep dim- 
ples appeared in her cheeks. 

“Here are two new boys. Miss Leonard.” 
Miss Pierce indicated Teddy and Harry with 
a gesture which implied that they were of small 
consequence. Then she marched majestically 
out of the room, leaving the newcomers to their 
fate. 

That fate promised to be a happy one. If 
Miss Leonard were nice as well as pretty, school 
might be endurable, was Teddy’s thought, while 
Harry’s eyes sparkled with delight. He was 
sure Miss Leonard liked boys. He was even 
surer when he heard her say, “Boys, we are 
glad to welcome you to our section. We have 


92 EAERY HARDING -^MESSENGER ^^45^* 


just two vacant seats. I think they must have 
been waiting for you. I will put your names 
on my register ; then you can take your 
places.’’ 

Stepping over to her desk, she beckoned the 
two boys to her side and wrote their names on 
the register. Then she conducted them down 
the center aisle between the rows of desks to 
two empty seats, the last two on the last of the 
four rows of seats, each row of which contained 
six seats. 

‘‘Faces front,” reminded Miss Leonard, 
gently, as pair after pair of curious eyes were 
directed toward these latest arrivals. “After 
classes you may stop and speak to the new mem- 
bers of our school-room family. All ready for 
your writing lesson, boys. Take out copy books. 
Eemember, we are going to work quickly and 
quietly.” She walked to the front of the room 
and faced her class. 

Miss Leonard did not raise her voice above 
an ordinary conversational tone, yet her class 
obeyed her at once, with the exception of a stout, 
cross-faced boy who occupied the seat directly 
across from Teddy in the next section. He was 
glaring at Teddy as though about to pounce 
upon him, then as Teddy’s eyes happened to rest 
on him, he screwed his fat face into a most hid- 
eous contortion. 

Teddy leaned forward and touched Harry 
on the shoulder. “Well, if here isn’t the ele- 


THE RECRUITS TO COMPANY A 


93 


phant/^ he said in a loud whisper. “Dear old 
Fatty Felix.” 

Unluckily, the fat boy’s ears were sharp. He 
heard the whispered words “elephant” and 
“Fatty Felix.” His broad face grew very red ; 
then he raised his hand. Before Miss Leonard 
could ascertain the cause of the upraised hand, 
he fairly shouted out, “Teacher, Jie/^ pointing 
a pudgy, accusing forefinger at Teddy, “called 
me ‘elephant’ an’ ‘Fatty Felix,’ an’ Tuesday 
he knocked my tray out of my hand in the lunch 
room and spilled my dinner. He did it apur- 
pose. He wh^sn’t goin’ to pay for it, neither.” 

A tense, little figure, crowned with a mop of 
red hair launched itself straight at the now ma- 
liciously-grinning fat boy. Another second and 
Teddy’s closed’ fists would have landed on his 
tormentor’s body with all the force which an 
angry little boy can put into blows. Someone 
caught him and set him down hard in his seat. 
He raised astonished eyes to Harry’s stern face. 
“You crazy boy, ’ ’ hissed Harry. “Now you are 
in for it!” 

“He can’t say I wasn’t goin’ to pay for his 
old lunch without gettin’ punched,” sputtered 
Teddy, wriggling from Harry’s grasp. 

“Boys, what does this mean?” Miss Leon- 
ard’s dimples were not in evidence. She looked 
uncompromisingly stern, and her eyes sparkled 
angrily. “Tell me, at once.” The other occu- 
pants of the class set up an excited buzzing. 


94 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


“Silence!’^ Miss Leonardos voice rang out 
with subduing effect. ^‘Now/’ turning to the 
fat boy, ‘‘what have you to say for yourself, 
sir?’’ 

The boy began a loud arraignment of Ted- 
dy’s misdeeds. 

Miss Leonard’s face expressed an astonish- 
ment which changed to lively displeasure, as the 
boy again blared forth his accusation of Ted- 
dy’s refusal to pay for the damage he had 
caused to his luncheon. 

“He is not telling the truth. Miss Leonard,” 
broke in a quiet voice. 

Unable to endure hearing Teddy maligned in 
this wholesale fashion, Harry Harding had 
come to his rescue. 


CHAPTER IX 


THE BITTEKNESS OF INJUSTICE 

HERE was a tense silence in the school- 



room. Every eye was directed toward the 


two lads whose appearance had been the 
signal for so mnch commotion. They had made 
a decidedly disturbing entrance into school, to 
say the least. 

Miss Leonard regarded Harry searchingly. 
His clear, unwavering glance seemed to assure 
her of his honesty of purpose. ^‘Suppose you 
tell me all about this argument,’’ she said 
quietly. ‘‘You appear to understand what it 
means. First, let me ask you why you say that 
this boy,” she indicated the fat youth, “is not 
telling the truth. ’ ’ 

“I know that he is not telling the truth, be- 
cause I was in the lunch-room when Ted — this 
boy, upset his tray. It was entirely an accident. 
He was looking at something else and bumped 
into the boy. The boy was very angry. He tried 
to make my friend pay fifteen cents, when his 


95 


I 


96 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER *^45^^ 


dinner cost ten. My friend gave him ten cents, 
and I suppose he bought another dinner.’’ 

‘‘He said he’d get even with me,” put in 
Teddy. 

“Wait a moment ! ” Miss Leonard held up her 
hand. “I have not asked you to say anything 
yet,” she reminded. Then she turned to the fat 
boy. “Howard, did you make all this commo- 
tion simply because you wanted to ‘be even’ 
with this boy?” 

‘ ‘ He called me ‘ elephant ’ and ‘ Fatty Felix, ’ ’ ’ 
whined the boy addressed as Howard. “He 
spoiled my dinner apurpose.” 

“He made a face at me,” declared Teddy, 
scowling. “That’s why I called him names. 
We were minding our own affairs and he ” 

“Howard, it looks to me as though you began 
this quarrel. Therefore, you are to apologize 
to Theodore for speaking falsely of him and for 
making a face at him. You, Theodore, must 
apologize to Howard for calling him unkind 
names. Now, Howard.” 

Howard glared at the red-haired boy, whose 
impish face wore a most tantalizing grin, 
then he mumbled a most unwilling apology. 

“I’m sorry I had to call him names. I 
wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t made a face 
at me.” Teddy addressed this naive apology 
to Miss Leonard, rather than the injured How- 
ard. 

Miss Leonard had difficulty in keeping an un- 


THE BITTERNESS OF INJUSTICE 97 


smiling face. Teddy’s offhand, unrepentant 
manner of apologizing was funny in the extreme. 
She felt her heart warm toward this mischiev- 
ous-faced, ruddy-haired boy. She liked the hon- 
esty that peeped out from behind the mischief, 
just as she disliked the mean, dishonorable 
spirit of which she knew Howard Randall, her 
oldest and most stupid pupil, to be possessed. 

‘‘Now, boys, I shall expect you to mind your 
own affairs strictly, in future. If any more 
such scenes occur, I shall send you to Mr. Keene. 
As it is, I shall give each of you a demerit. 
Hand me your cards.” 

The boys’ hands traveled reluctantly to the 
breast pockets of their coats. Teddy brought 
forth a card devoid, by lucky chance, of black 
marks. Howard Randall’s card, however, was 
decorated with several evidences of his failure 
to obey the rules of Martin Brothers ’ store. 

“I am sorry to be obliged to give a boy a de- 
merit before he has been my pupil ten minutes,” 
she said with a significance that made Teddy 
hang his head and resolve to keep his card clear 
thereafter. 

Her pretty face grew perceptibly harder as 
she leveled cold eyes upon the fat boy. “This 
is the fifth demerit for you this month, sir. Re- 
member, October is not half over. It would pay 
you to make up your mind to be a good boy. 
Now, listen to me. The next time I have occa- 
sion to speak to you I shall send you to Miss 


98 H AERY HARDING — MESSENGER ^^45^* 


Pierce and tell her that I do not care to have a 
hoy like yon in my class/ ^ 

The fat boy listened in snlky silence to Miss 
Leonard’s threat. As she turned and walked 
down the aisle to her desk, he made a face at 
her retreating back. Several boys, who were 
watching him, giggled. The teacher eyed him 
sharply as she faced her class, but by this time 
the fat boy’s face had returned to its expres- 
sion of sullenness. 

After this break in the usual routine of the 
school work, matters progressed more smoothly. 
Miss Leonard interviewed Teddy and Harry as 
to their class standing in the schools which 
they had attended previous to their entry into 
the store. She was not slow to perceive Har- 
ry’s eagerness for study, and that he was far- 
ther advanced than the majority of the boys in 
her class. He seemed so anxious to learn, too. 
She felt that it would be a pleasure to teach 
him. She had serious doubts of Teddy, how- 
ever. By no means did she hold him blameless 
for the recent disturbance. Still, there was 
something very likable about him. At least 
Teddy was honest and straightforward. This 
would, perhaps, outweigh his mischievous tend- 
encies. She determined to keep him busy every 
moment of the time he spent in her class-room, 
and in this respect she showed that rare good 
sense which had made her the most successful 
teacher in Martin Brothers’ school for boys. 


THE BITTERNESS OF INJUSTICE 99 


As each boy had only two mornings in the 
week in which to attend school, these mornings 
were extremely busy ones. On Tuesday and Fri- 
day Company B went to school, on Wednesday 
and Saturday it was Company C ^s turn. School 
opened promptly at half-past seven o ’clock, with 
the reading of the Bible. In Miss Leonard’s 
room each boy was required to recite a Bible 
verse or poetical quotation. The recital of the 
quotations followed the Bible reading. Then 
the remainder of the time until eight o ’clock was 
devoted to penmanship, the boys copying a par- 
agraph placed on the large blackboard which 
took up most of the wall space directly behind 
Miss Leonard’s desk. A peculiarity of the writ- 
ing lesson was that once the copy was begun 
it could not be erased or re-written. It must 
stand as it had been originally put down. This 
was Miss Leonard’s own idea, and it went far 
toward inculcating the habits of neatness and 
carefulness in writing. 

From eight o’clock until half-past eight, the 
three sections joined in gymnastic exercises on 
one morning and on the other the same period 
was devoted to concert singing. On the same 
floor with the schoolrooms a small gymnasium 
had been fitted with wands, dumb-bells, Indian 
clubs, and all the paraphernalia of a high-school 
gymnasium. Their instructor was a young sales- 
man in the sporting goods department, who left 
the selling floor for a half hour every other 


100 EAERY HAEBING -^MESSENGER ^^45*^ 


morning to give the boys the benefit of his serv- 
ices. 

From half-past eight until nine o ’clock came 
the arithmetic recitation, followed by a half hour 
of geography. From half-past nine until ten 
o’clock was a study hour, followed by half an 
hour of English grammar and composition. 
From half-past ten until a quarter to eleven was 
also given over to study, and the last fifteen 
minutes of the morning were devoted to spell- 
ing. As far as possible the boys were given 
no home work to do, although they were privi- 
leged to prepare their arithmetic, English or 
geography lessons outside of school, if they 
failed to finish them during the time allotted 
during each school morning for study. 

Such was the programme of the school in 
which Teddy and Harry now found themselves. 
Harry’s eyes shone with a great happiness, as 
the morning wore away and the several periods 
of recitation and study came and went, while for 
the first time in his life, perhaps, Teddy was 
genuinely interested in school. 

When, at eleven o’clock. Section A filed out of 
the schoolroom, Teddy hurried to catch up with 
Harry, who was walking a few steps ahead of 
him. ‘^How about it?” he asked jocularly. He 
was not quite sure how Harry had taken his 
lapse from good conduct. 

‘‘How about what?” retorted Harry, pur- 
posely dense. 


THE BITTERNESS OF INJUSTICE 101 


‘‘Wh-y — er — school/’ beamed Teddy. ‘‘It 
wasn’t so had, after all.” 

“Oh, no, school wasn’t bad,” flung back 
Harry with unmistakable emphasis. 

Teddy grinned cheerfully. “Well, it wasn’t 
your fault, anyway. You told me not to call 
people names. I’m much obliged to you for 
being on my side, though.” 

“I wouldn’t have helped you at all if that boy 
had told the truth,” informed Harry calmly. 
“You got just what you deserved, a demerit. 
But it wasn’t fair in that Eandall boy to say 
what he said.” 

“Well, I’m not going to get any more de- 
merits. Not unless I’m asleep and somebody 
steals my card and puts ’em there.” 

“You’d never get any while you were asleep. 
That’s when you are really good,” was Harry’s 
sly comment. 

Teddy’s grin grew broad again. “Some 
knock,” he murmured. “Well, here’s where I 
leave you. See you to-night. ” 

“All right,” nodded Harry. His eyes fol- 
lowed Teddy as he ran down a basement stair- 
way. He turned in the direction of his own de- 
partment. Suddenly a peevish voice addressed 
him : ‘ ‘ Where ’s the perfume counter, boy ? ” He 
felt a decided poke between the shoulders. 

Harry whirled and saw a cross-looking old 
man with a cane partly raised, as though to poke 
him again if necessary. 


102 HARRY HARDING ---MESSENGER *^45^^ 


‘‘Two aisles down, turn to your left, sir,’’ an- 
swered Harry politely. 

“I’d like to know who can make anything of 
that information, ’ ’ snapped the old man. “You 
take me down there, boy. That’s what you’re 
here for.” 

“Very well, sir, I will.” Harry led the way 
down the aisle toward the perfumes, while the 
old man trotted after him, grumbling that he 
couldn’t see why department stores tried to hide 
their wares if they expected to sell them. 

It was at least ten minutes before Harry suc- 
ceeded in getting away from the ill-natured cus- 
tomer, who insisted that the boy call a salesgirl 
to wait on him. 

“Oh, dear,” he breathed in consternation, as, 
free at last, he hurried toward his department. 
He had caught sight of the clock in the book de- 
partment. It was seventeen minutes past eleven. 
He hurried down the aisle that separated the 
books from the jewelry, so intent on reaching 
the exchange desk that he did not see a man, car- 
rying several books, who stepped from a narrow 
aisle, formed by several tables, into the main 
one. 

Crash ! The books fell from the man’s hands 
to the floor. The impact of the collision sent 
both man and boy backward several steps. 

“I beg your pardon, sir. I did not see you 
coming.” Harry stooped. Gathering up the 
fallen books, he presented them to the stranger, 


THE BITTERNESS OF INJUSTICE 103 


a fine-looking man of perhaps forty-two, with 
keen, gray eyes and black hair, lightly touched 
with gray at the temples. 

‘‘It was my fault, my lad,’^ smiled the man. 
“I was so busy thinking I was not looking where 
I walked.^’ 

His gray eyes took in the boy from head to 
foot with a searching glance that contained de- 
cided approval. 

“What a nice man,’^ was Harry’s thought as 
he turned away. “I wonder who he is. He 
must be a salesman in the books. He had all 
those books. My goodness! It’s twenty min- 
utes after eleven o’clock. What will Mr. Bar- 
ton say, I wonder. Still, I couldn’t help taking 
that man to the perfumes.” 

Harry was soon to learn what Mr. Barton had 
to say. He had hardly reached the exchange 
desk when he saw the aisle manager bearing 
down upon him, looking like a cross old bird. 

“Look at that clock,” began Mr. Barton in a 
voice that could be heard the length of the de- 
partment. ‘ ‘ Eleven minutes late. Give me your 
card. If you play along the way, you mustn’t 
expect I ’m going to excuse you. Oh, no ! ” 

‘ ‘ Mr. Barton, I would have been here on time 
if ” 

“You hadn’t stopped to fool with some other 
boy, ’ ’ supplied the man sarcastically. ‘ ‘ Where ’s 
your card ? Give it to me, I say. ’ ’ 

“But, Mr. Barton,” protested Harry, “I had 


104 HARRY HAEBING -^MESSENGER ^^45^* 


to show an old gentleman where the per- 
fume ’’ 

‘ ‘ That ’ll do, ’ ’ roared the aisle manager. Har- 
ry ’s mild protest had aroused his temper. 
‘‘Either give me your card, or up to the front 
you go.” 

Harry said no more. With his boyish face 
white and set he handed Mr. Barton his pre- 
cious card, the card he had dreamed of keeping 
clear and fair. 

“There’s one for tardiness, one for imperti- 
nence, and one for — ^lying. You can’t fool me 
with a yarn about having to show a customer a 
department. I’ll let you go with demerits, this 
time, but don’t you ever lie to me again. I 
know too much about boys. ’ ’ 

Harry’s face turned from white to scarlet. 
He clenched his hands in an effort to control 
himself. It seemed to him that for the first 
time in his life he knew what hatred really 
meant. Now he understood, or thought he un- 
derstood, Teddy’s rooted dislike for his former 
teacher. Miss Alton. 

‘ ‘ Here, take your card and put it away. ’ ’ Mr. 
Barton thrust Harry’s card into his hands and 
stalked off. The boy gazed gloomily at the 
three black marks that loomed in a sinister row 
on the bit of cardboard that spelled his future 
in the store, while, for the first time, deep in his 
soul, rankled and stung the bitterness of in- 
justice. 


CHAPTEE X 

BEEAKEKS AHEAD EOE HAKRY 

4 4 ON ’T feel so bad about it, Kiddy. ^ ^ It 
I I was the sympathetic Miss Welch who 
addressed Harry. Seated at the ex- 
change desk she had witnessed Mr. Barton’s 
harsh, unjust manner of dealing with Harry. 
Her pretty eyes still snapped with angry sym- 
pathy as she tried to comfort the boy, who 
looked ready to cry. 

Harry clenched his hands hard, and manfully 
swallowed the lump that rose in his throat. He 
was a sturdy boy and not given to tears, but 
now his sense of outraged justice was so great 

that they were very near to falling. ^ ‘ I — I ’ ’ 

he stammered, then stopped, fighting for self- 
control. 

‘ ‘ Don ’t I know you wasn ’t to blame 1 ’ soothed 
Miss Welch’s kindly voice. ‘‘Ain’t I seen him 
get after -other boys besides you, when they 
hadn’t done a thing? Don’t tell me. You don’t 
have to. I guess I know old Smarty Barty.”" 

105 


106 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER *^45^^ 


Harry woe-begone face lightened a little at 
Miss Welch’s disrespectful reference to the for- 
midable Mr. Barton. 

^‘Oh, see the gloom break up!” she exclaimed 
in pretended astonishment. ‘ ‘ I guess it ’ll be a 
nice day after all. How about it, Kiddy?” 

‘H guess it will,” smiled Harry. Then he 
sighed. ‘ ‘ I couldn ’t help being late. Miss W elch. 
First an old man asked me ^here the perfumes 
were. I directed him to them, but he said I’d 
have to go with him to show him. I was afraid 
he ’d report me, so I went with him. Then, just 
as I was coming through the book department, 
I bumped into a man with some books. The 
books fell to the floor and I stooped to pick them 
up. Then I came here as fast as ever I could, 
but I was ten minutes late. Now I’ve got three 
demerits on my card, and I wanted to keep it so 
nice — and — clean. ’ ’ Harry ’s voice broke. 

Never mind. Kiddy, never mind,” comforted 
Miss W elch. ‘ ‘ J ust let me put you wise, though. 
Don’t have nothing to do with these old fuss- 
budgets that want you to go on a personally con- 
ducted tour of the store with ’em. Answer ’em 
politely if they ask you anything, and then beat 
it out of their vicinity as fast as you can. They 
won’t report you. They wouldn’t know you 
from Adam if they saw you two minutes after- 
ward. Course, you couldn’t help but pick up 
those books. You’re all right, youngster, and 
you just keep on being the little gentleman you 


BREAKERS AHEAD FOR HARRY 107 


are, no matter what fifty Smarty Bartys have to 
say. 

‘‘Now, cheer np. I’m goin’ to tell you some- 
thing funny. ’Bout half an hour ago, while you 
was up to school, a long, thin, solemn-looking 
woman came up to the desk and says in a kind 
of a scared voice, ‘Is this the exchange desk?’ 

“ ‘It is,’ says I, ‘what can I do for you?’ 

“She hands me a Mg package and says, ‘I 
bought two little gold baby-pins here day before 
yesterday on a transfer, and when they come 
home they was two pairs of men’s overalls. 
They wasn’t no pins at all.’ Maybe I didn’t 
laugh. I couldn ’t help it. When the Avoman saw 
me laugh, she grinned a kind of a sickly grin, 
too. Now, wasn’t that funny?” 

Miss JVelch leaned back in her chair and in- 
dulged in a fresh burst of laughter. “Ha, ha! 
That certainly was a good one on the Transfer 
Department,” she chuckled. “They certainly 
changed things around that time.” 

Harry forgot his troubles and joined in the 
laugh. The sunshine cast by the good-natured 
exchange clerk had scattered his gloom for the 
time being, at least. “I’ll try harder than 
ever,” he thought, setting his boyish mouth 
firmly. “He sha’n’t give me any more demer- 
its. I guess everybody has to learn things by 
experience. ’ ’ 

He was greatly surprised and not a little per- 
plexed that afternoon when Mr. Barton beck- 


108 HARRY HARDING ’^MESSENGER 


oned to him from one of the aisles and said in 
an actually pleasant tone, ^‘45, 1 want you to go 
on an errand. Here is a pass. Show this to the 
time-keeper as you go out. Come with me and 
I will tell you what you are to do. ’ ’ Beckoning 
to Harry, he strode down the aisle, the boy at 
his heels. At the extreme end of the jewelry 
department was a small room in which Mr. Bar- 
ton kept his personal effects. It had been for- 
merly been used by the buyer of the jewelry as 
an office. Now it held nothing but empty boxes 
and odds and ends that had drifted into it. Un- 
locking a small closet, Mr. Barton took from it 
a good-sized pasteboard box. ‘‘Here, boy, I 
want you to take this to 1855 Commerce Street. 
It goes to Jacoby’s tailor shop. Here’s his 
card. There’s a note in the box. Just ask for 
Mr. J acoby, and say that Mr. Barton sent you. 
It won’t take you long.” 

“Yes, sir,” replied Harry obediently. “Shall 
I go now?” 

“Yes, and get back as soon as you can.” Mr. 
Barton’s grim features relaxed into what he evi- 
dently considered a pleasant smile. 

Taking the box under his arm, Harry started 
toward the men’s coat room for his cap. As he 
walked, he examined the bit of paper. It was 
a printed form of store pass, and at the bottom 
was written, ‘ ‘ On store business. Barton. ’ ’ 

The man at the time-desk examined the slip 
indifferently, made a mysterious mark on it with 


BREAKERS AHEAD FOR HARRY 109 


a red pencil, and shoved it back to Harry. It 
was not nntil Harry had left the store behind 
and walked at least a block that he took the card 
bearing the tailor ^s address from his pocket 
and again glanced at the street and number. 
Martin Brothers’ store fronted on Commerce 
Street. It took up the entire space between 
numbers five and six hundred. But it was to 
number 1855 that Mr. Barton was sending him. 
Twelve long, city blocks lay before him. The 
boy looked rather dismayed ; not because he ob- 
jected to the long walk in the crisp, autumn air, 
but because of the time it would take him to go 
to the shop and return. Harry wondered 
vaguely if it were not customary to allow the 
messengers their carfare when on outside busi- 
ness for the store. Perhaps Mr. Barton had 
forgotten all about it. He was decidedly ab- 
sent-minded. Even in the short time Harry had 
been stationed at the exchange desk, he had dis- 
covered that. Had he not heard Miss Welch 
scold frequently over Mr. Barton’s mistakes, 
due to his absent-mindedness? But he was so 
crabbed that she never dared call him to ac- 
count openly for them. She had to content her- 
self with throwing out barbed insinuations, to 
which he never appeared to pay the slightest 
attention. 

Harry soon forgot his brief uneasiness over 
the distance to his destination and trudged 
briskly along the city streets, happy in being out 


110 HAREY HARDING — MESSENGER *'45'' 


in the fresh air. After twenty minutes fast 
walking he arrived at the shop. Over the door 
hung a large sign, which read, ‘‘A. Jacoby, Re- 
pairing, Cleaning and Pressing Garments While 
You Wait. ’’ It was followed by a list of prices. 

Harry delivered the box into the hands of a 
stout, gray-haired man with a red face and a 
decided German accent. The man opened the 
box. In it lay a blue serge suit. On top of the 
suit lay a note. The tailor read the note, then 
motioning Harry to a chair he said, ‘ ‘ Sit down 
and vait. It vill be a little while only before I 
can do dot shob for Meester Parton.’^ 

The old man took the suit over one arm and 
trotted off into an adjoining room with it. 

Harry sat down obediently enough. He 
glanced curiously about him at the rows of suits, 
single coats and trousers that hung on racks set 
on three sides of the room, each garment bear- 
ing a large white tag. Harry always made it a 
point to be interested in all that he saw, but tail- 
oring and repairing did not in the least appeal 
to him. After twenty minutes had passed he 
began to feel slightly impatient. Mr. Barton 
had said it would not take him long. When 
twice twenty minutes had slipped away, he grew 
uneasy. It had been twenty minutes past two 
o^clock when he left the store. It was now 
twenty minutes past three. A whole hour had 
vanished. 

‘‘Won’t Mr. Barton’s suit be ready soon, 


BREAKERS AHEAD FOR HARRY 111 


sirT’ he asked the gray-haired proprietor po- 
litely, as Mr. Jacoby waddled into view at the 
sound of the door-bell. 

“Ven it ees hready, I dell you, poy,” the old 
man returned placidly, then went on explaining, 
to a beetle-browed young man who had just 
come in, why it would be advisable to steam 
clean a much-soiled gray suit he had brought 
into A. Jacoby ^s dominion for renovation. 

Half-past three, then a quarter to four ar- 
rived. Harry fidgeted uneasily. He was in an 
agony of apprehension lest Mr. Barton might 
accuse him of playing along the way. At four 
o’clock, A. Jacoby waddled into the room where 
Harry sat in despak. The blue serge suit hung 
over one pudgy arm. 

‘‘You dell Mr. Par ton he should pring his 
glose alhready sooner. Next dime he haf to vait 
until the next tay. ’ ’ The old man was folding 
the suit in the box as he talked. It seemed to 
Harry that he was hours tying up the box. 
“Dell him he can bay me any dime,” he in- 
structed Harry. 

‘ ‘ Two hours in that shop, and it ’ll take twenty 
minutes to get back to the store. Oh, if I just 
had a nickel.” He looked longingly at the cars 
as they lumbered by him, then squaring his 
shoulders he set oif toward Martin Brothers’ 
Store almost on a run. 

He thought the time-keeper eyed him rather 
suspiciously as he tendered his slip at the time- 


112 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER 


desk. He wondered if the man thought he had 
been loitering. But what would Mr. Barton 
say? That was the all-important question. 
Harry decided that if Mr. Barton accused him 
of playing along the way, he would suggest that 
he call A. J acoby himself on the telephone and 
thus find out the time he left the tailor shop. 

Harry hastily handed his cap to the boy who 
was on duty in the coat-room and hurried up 
the nearest stairway, two steps at a time. As 
he neared the exchange desk number 10, his eyes 
traveled over the jewelry department, in a 
search for Mr. Barton. Then suddenly he heard 
an indignant voice exclaim, ‘‘Well, 45, 1 wonder 
where you’ve been all afternoon!’’ 

Harry whirled to face Miss Welch’s disap- 
proving eyes. Her pretty face was not lighted 
by its usual smile. She looked distinctly out of 
humor.. 

“I didn’t think it of you. Kid,” she replied. 
“I thought you was a good boy. Here, when 
I’m as busy as can be, you go and lose your- 
self for all afternoon. I nearly ruined my voice 
hollering for you, and maybe Mr. Seymour ain’t 
mad. He flopped up here with some lady friend 
of his awhile ago. She wanted to exchange a 
ring and I had no boy to send with her to the 
department. He had to go himself. After she 
was gone he came back and I had to give him 
your number. He asked Smarty Barton where 
you was and he said he sent you to the stock- 


BREAKERS AHEAD FOR HARRY 113 


room half an hour ago, and you’d oughta been 
back. Now there’s just this about it, Kid. If 
you aren’t going to be on the job when I need 
you, then I’m going to ask for another boy.^ 
I’ve tried to be good to you and you ought to 
kinda look out for me and be Johnny-on-the-spot 
when I call, ‘Boy,’ without my wasting my 
breath and splitting my throat yelling for you. ’ ’ 
Harry stared at the ruffled exchange clerk in 
silent amazement. Could he believe his ears? 
What was it Miss Welch had just said about 
Mr. Barton? 

“I guess you know you didn’t do right,” went 
on Miss Welch. “I certainly am su ’prised and 
sorry.” 

‘‘Miss Welch,” Harry’s voice rose in excite- 
ment. “I wasn’t up in the stock-room. Why, 
I don’t even know where it is. I was out of the 
store on an errand for Mr. Barton. ’ ’ 

It was the exchange clerk’s turn to stare. 
There was absolute truth in the boy’s clear 
eyes. They met hers unflinchingly. 

“Well, what do you think of that?” she mut- 
tered. “On an errand for old Smarty! 
Where ’d he send you?” 

“To a tailor shop on Commerce Street. I 
had to take a blue suit there to be pressed. I 
had to wait for it, and it took a long time. He 
gave me a store pass. I’m afraid he ’ll scold me, 

though, for being gone so long. But I ” 

“Scold you,” snorted Miss Welch. “Don’t 


114 HARRY HARDING -^MESSENGER ‘*45’^ 


you worry. He won’t scold you. The mean old 
reprobate! Here he sends you out on an er- 
rand for him and then tells Mr. Seymour he sent 
you to the stock-room. Oh, just wait till the 
next time he gets on his ear around here. I’ll 
hand him something. Now, you listen to me, 
Harry. I mighta known you was too good a kid 
to go playing hookey from your department. 
Don’t you ever go on personal errands for any- 
body but a real boss. No aisle man can send 
you out with his clothes or his laundry or to 
buy theatre tickets or anything like that. Some 
of ’em do it, I know, but they’re generally men 
enough to stand up and say so. If he tries it 
again, say ^No,’ right out flat. Just like that. 
He can’t do a thing to you, because if he re- 
ported you he ’d have to tell on himself. Catch 
him doing that ! ’ ’ 

‘‘But what shall I say if Mr. Seymour asks 
me about to-day?” queried Harry, his boyish 
face very sober. 

“Tell him — ^let me see — tell him — the truth, 
of course. You don’t love Smarty Barton so 
much that you want to be a nice, gentle martyr 
for him, do you?” 

“No-o-o, only I hate to — tell tales,” faltered 
Harry. 

“Humph!” ejaculated the exchange clerk 
with deep scorn. “Well, wait and see. Maybe 
Mr. Seymour won’t think of it again. But you 
remember what I told you. No more errands 


BREAKERS AHEAD FOR HARRY 115 


for S. B. I’ll bet you he never gave you a cent 
of carfare, now did he?” 

Harry shook his head. 

‘‘Can you beat it?” muttered Miss Welch. 
“Yes, lady, this is the exchange desk.” She 
turned to the customer who had asked the ques- 
tion. “ Where ’s your check ? You ’ll have to get 
the aisle manager to sign it.” 

Harry moved a little away from the desk, 
still keeping within call. His honest young soul 
rebelled against Mr. Barton’s treachery. He 
made up his mind, however, that he would not 
betray the aisle manager if he could avoid doing 
so, provided Mr. Seymour should take him to 
task for his long absence from the floor. But he 
hoped with all his heart that Mr. Barton would 
not ask him to go on another similar errand. 


CHAPTEE XI 


TEDDY BURKE DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF 

B ut while Harry Harding was finding life 
in a department store far from tranquil, 
Teddy Burke was making himself very 
much at home in the prosaic realm of kettles 
and pans. In fact, the kettles and pans were 
hut a small part of department 40. It did not 
take the active Teddy long to discover this. The 
kingdom of house furnishings spread over a 
large part of the basement, and from a profound 
contempt for the lowly conveniences and neces- 
sities of the housekeeper, he developed at least 
a good-natured tolerance for the engines of 
housekeeping, great and small. 

It did not take him long to explore every foot 
of the territory into which his lot had been cast, 
and before he had been in the department a week 
he knew everyone in it. The demonstrator who 
concocted appetizing dishes on her shining gas 
range became his firm friend and slipped him 
many a surreptitious dainty. Mr. Duffield, the 
aisle manager, liked Teddy chiefly because he 
116 


TEDDY BURKE DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF 117 


was unusually keen of understanding. ‘ ‘ I never 
have to tell 65 a thing more than once/’ he was 
wont to remark to the salesmen. Samuel Hick- 
son, the red-haired young man, was Teddy’s 
chief crony, however, and Teddy liked nothing 
better than to travel about at his heels. Mr. 
Hickson laughingly referred to Teddy as his 
mascot, and more than once the little boy’s 
sharp eyes singled out prospective customers 
‘‘who looked as though they wanted a whole lot 
of things, ’ ’ and put his friend on their trail. 

‘ ‘ Say, ’ ’ began Teddy one afternoon when dur- 
ing a lull in business he lined his thin little body 
beside Hickson, who stood leaning against a 
table, peering anxiously across the wide stretch 
of household wares for customers. It had been 
an unusually dull day and few sales were re- 
corded on Hickson’s book. “Who’s this man 
Everett they’re always talkin’ about?” 

“Mr. Everett’s the buyer. He’s been in New 
York ever since you came. I expect to see him 
in here most any time.” 

‘‘What do you suppose he’ll think of me?” 
asked Teddy naively. 

The salesman laughed. ‘ ‘ Probably he ’ll never 
see you, unless he happens to want you to go on 
an errand. Who do you think you are, Eeddy ? ’ ’ 

Teddy’s face fell, then he put on an expres- 
sion of ridiculous dignity, puffed out his chest 
and said, “Well, I guess I’m just as much as 
some other people I Imow.” 


118 HAEEY HAEBING — MESSENGEE ^^45’^ 


The salesman only langhed the louder. Look- 
ing deeply injured, Teddy marched off down a 
narrow aisle, between high-stacked rows of 
granite ware, to a section reserved entirely for 
mops, brooms, long-handled brushes and other 
paraphrenalia for cleaning. 

guess if the buyer saw me once, he’d re- 
member my hair, anyhow,” Teddy muttered. 
At that moment his eyes were attracted to a 
curious, many-colored figure poking disconso- 
lately along toward him. ‘‘She’s an Eyetal- 
ion, ’ ’ decided Ted. ‘ ‘ I guess she ’s just got here 
to America.” The woman wore a red skirt and 
a bright blue waist ; a wide red and yellow ker- 
chief was folded about her shoulders. On her 
head she wore a red silk handkerchief with a 
ringed red and white border, the ends of which 
were tied under her chin. In her ears hung long 
hoops of gold that swung and shook as she 
walked. She was looking eagerly from side to 
side as though in search of something. 

While Teddy was still several yards from her, 
a saleswoman approached and addressed the 
woman. 

‘ ‘ What can I show you, madam ? ’ ’ The sales- 
woman smiled ingratiatingly. 

Whether the stranger understood the other 
woman’s words or not, she at least seemed to 
comprehend the offer of services. With a smile 
more than equal to the one bestowed upon her, 
she gestured with both hands as though pushing 


TEDDY BURKE DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF 119 


something ahead of her. ‘‘Aht, aht!^^ she ex- 
claimed, with another vigorous shoving for- 
ward of both hands. 

‘^Oh, yes, I see.’’ The saleswoman stepped 
to a stack of long-handled floor brushes, and 
selecting one demonstrated its good qualities 
for the customer’s benefit. 

The Italian woman smiled broadly, but shook 
her head. ‘ ^ Aht, aht, ’ ’ she repeated plaintively. 

By this time two other saleswomen, attracted 
by the unusual spectacle the woman presented, 
joined the first. 

‘‘Aht, aht,” pleaded the woman, repeating her 
gesture. 

‘ ‘ She wants a mojp. That ’s what she wants, ’ ’ 
nodded one of the women, a tall, stout blonde, 
whom Teddy had privately named “The Gob- 
bler, ’ ’ on account of her loud voice. 

“Yes, show her a mop,” echoed the third 
saleswoman. 

The mop was duly shown. A carpet-sweeper 
was next paraded forth. It was followed by a 
broom. The Italian woman seemed highly ap- 
preciative of the display. She continued to 
smile broadly, although she still shook her head 
and repeated her monotonous, ‘^aht, aht.” 

Gradually a dozen persons drifted to the scene 
of action. As they stood viewing the brisk 
demonstration of brooms, sweepers and mops, 
into their midst strode a rather slender, blue- 


120 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER ^*45^^ 


eyed man, with a close-lipped, resolute mouth 
and a distinct air of business about him. 

“What does this woman want?’^ he asked 
sharply. 

“We don’t know,” blared forth the sales- 
woman whom Teddy had wickedly named the 
Gobbler. “ We Ve showed her everything. She 
keeps going like this and s-aying, ‘ Aht ! ’ ” 

“Give me that carpet-sweeper,” ordered the 
man. He ran it back and forth in front of the 
smiling customer. 

‘ ‘No — ^no ; aht ! ’ ’ The misunderstood daugh- 
ter of Italy made a desperate sweep of her arms. 

Suddenly, a wide smile irradiated Teddy 
Burke ’s freckled face. Stepping directly up to 
the woman he said, “Come -along. I know what 
you want. You want to get out of the store. 
Out — out/^ he emphasized. 

“Aht!” The Italian clasped her fat brown 
hands in rapture and, nodding delightedly to 
her amazed audience, shuffled after Teddy, who 
had already started up the aisle toward an ele- 
vator. 

‘ ‘ Forevermore ! ’ ’ gasped the Gobbler. “I’d 
like to know how that boy guessed what she 
wanted.” 

“Wlio is that boy?” came the sharp ques- 
tion from the business-like man. 

‘ ‘ His name is Teddy. That ’s all I know about 
him,” volunteered one of the saleswomen. 


TEDDY BURKE DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF 121 


the messenger boy in this depart- 
ment/’ stated another girl, better informed. 

‘‘He’s a very bright boy,” cut in the man de- 
cisively, “and decidedly observing.” Then he 
marched off down the aisle to his office, while 
the little knot of salespersons resumed their 
usual stations in their department. 


CHAPTER Xn 


A DISASTROUS COMBAT 

ac AY, Eeddy,’’ called Sam Hickson, a lit- 
tie later. A chance customer had 
prevented him from joining the group 
about the Italian woman. ‘ ‘ Look down the aisle. 
There ^s the buyer, if you’re dying to see him.” 

‘‘Oh, I saw him long ago,” drawled Teddy. 
“He was over there with that Eyetalion woman 
who was lost in the -wildfe ‘of Martins ’ base- 
ment. ” He related the incident to Hickson who 
had been busy with a customer at that time. 

Hickson laughed heartily. ‘ ‘ And it took little 
Eeddy to show ’em. I guess maybe Mr. Everett 
will know you the next time he sees you. ’ ’ 

But before the day was over, Mr. Everett 
was destined to receive a most vivid impression 
of Teddy. The long, dull afternoon was draw- 
ing slowly to a close. The wall clock at one end 
of the department pointed to a quarter to five. 

“I’m not sorry this day’s pretty near done,” 
grumbled Sam Hickson to Teddy. “I haven’t 
122 


A DISASTROUS COMBAT 


123 


sold enough to-day to earn my salary, let alone 
my commission/^ 

you don’t sell enough of this junk to earn 
your salary, will you get fired?” was Teddy’s 
anxious inquiry. 

‘‘Well, Martin Brothers haven’t said any- 
thing yet about keeping me for an ornament,” 
Hickson made humorous answer. 

“Te, he!” snickered Teddy, “I guess they 
think these old kettles and pans are nicer orna- 
ments than you are. All they have to do is to 
hang around here till somebody buys ’em, or 
they jump off the table,” he added, as, his arm 
coming into contact with a long-handled dip^ 
per, it bounced to the floor with a protesting 
bang. “I’m goin’ to take a walk down there 
where the wash boilers grow.” 

Teddy slammed the dipper into its accus- 
tomed place and strolled down the aisle, his 
alert, black eyes roving over the department in 
search of adventure. He could never pass the 
rows of wash boilers without slyly lifting the 
lid of one of them and holding it in the position 
of a shield. He always wondered how canni- 
bals and head-hunters could hold those great, 
clumsy things in one hand and fight with the 
other. To-day he peered sharply about to see 
if anyone was observing him. That end of the 
department was apparently deserted. Far up 
the aisle the Gobbler was expatiating on the 
glories of a clothes-wringer to a stolid-faced 


124 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ^^45” 


woman, who clamored for a bargain in wring- 
ers. The loud gobble, gobble of the saleswom- 
an’s strident voice floated down the aisle to 
Teddy. It meant that the Gobbler was too much 
taken up with her customer to trouble herself 
about him. With the shield-like lid in his hand 
he flitted through a cross-aisle, like a mischiev- 
ous little shadow, to a corner where a collec- 
tion of clothes-poles stood. He ran his eye over 
the lot, then singling out the smallest one, 
reached for it. Again he glanced quickly about 
him. The coast was clear. 

Holding his improvised shield in an attitude 
of defence, Teddy charged down the deserted 
aisle, the clothes-pole poised threateningly. His 
impish face was aglow with the e:j^citement of 
his pretended warfare. At the end of the cross- 
aisle he paused to reconnoiter. No one was in 
sight. Teddy took a fresh grip on his shield 
and charged back again. Suddenly, to his 
amazed horror, his shield came in violent con- 
tact with something moving. The snarling, ‘ ‘ Hi, 
there, whoda you think you’re hitting,” proved 
the ‘‘something moving” to be a very angry 
human being. 

The clothes-pole clattered to the floor. The 
victim of his spirited charge was none other 
than his old enemy, Howard Eandall, the fat 
boy. Teddy hastily flung aside his shield and 
doubled his fists. 

“Thought you’d lick me, didn’t you,” sput- 



HIS SHIELD CAME IN VIOLENT CONTACT WITH SOMETHING 

MOVING. 

Harry Harding — ‘‘Messenger 45’’ Page 124 



A DISASTROUS COMBAT 


125 


tered Howard. ‘‘Had to get a clothes-pole and 
a boiler lid to do it, though. I c’n lick you with 
my two fists, and I’m goin’ to do it right now 
while no one’s lookin’.” Howard aimed a sav- 
age blow at Teddy, who dodged nimbly, placing 
the width of a narrow aisle table between them. 

“ ’Fraid of me, ain’t you, baby,” sneered 
Howard, following Teddy up menacingly. “ I ’ll 
show you.” 

Both boys reached the end of the protecting 
table at the same instant and met in the narrow 
aisle. Intent on what promised to be a real 
battle, neither had noted the approach of a very 
short, stout man, who, equally occupied in try- 
ing to gaze on both sides of the aisle at once, had 
not yet perceived them. 

“Take that, you red-head.” With unseeing 
rage Howard lunged viciously, putting all his 
strength into the blow. Teddy again side- 
stepped. 

A groan of deep anguish, followed by an 
angry snort rent the air. 

Howard’s fist had missed Teddy but it had 
not missed the stout man. The force with 
which Howard had delivered his blow had 
caused him to lurch forward. Before he could 
recover his balance, he was seized in an iron 
grip. 

“You young rascal,” growled the enraged 
recipient of the blow, “I’ll teach you to go 
about attacking customers!” 


126 HARRY HARDING--- MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


Teddy stood transfixed. Things had hap- 
pened with most amazing suddenness. 

The fat hoy wriggled ineffectively to free 
himself. ‘ ‘ Aw, let me go, mister. I didn ’t mean 
to hit yon. I was tryin^ to hit him” he begged, 
wagging his head toward Teddy. 

‘‘Let yon go! I gness not, yon yonng rnf- 
fian. "Why don^t yon pick a boy of yonr own 
size, if yon want to fight?’’ 

“I gness it was some my fanlt,” pnt in 
Teddy. “I ran into him, and he thonght I did 
it on pnrpose. That’s why he was goin’ to 
fight me. Please don’t report him, mister. He 
didn’t mean to hit yon. There isn’t a boy in 
this store that wonld do snch a thing on pnr- 
pose.” 

Teddy’s black eyes were fastened on the man 
with desperate pleading. The fat boy stared 
at Teddy in amazed nnbelief. 

The rwan looked from one lad to the other. 
His grim face softened. He relaxed his hold on 
Howard’s arm. “I onght to report yon both 
for fighting,” he said, “bnt I’ve a boy abont 
yonr age at home. So I’ll let yon go. Yon’d 
better be carefnl in fntnre whom yon hit. The 
next person might not see things as I do.” He 
tnrned abrnptly and walked off in the opposite 
direction. 

The belligerents watched him ont of sight, 
then their glances met. The fat boy looked 


A DISASTROUS COMBAT 


127 


somewhat sheepish. Teddy was grinning 
broadly. 

glad he had a boy of his own/’ he com- 
mented. 

‘‘Yon got me into that mess, but you got me 
out of it, too,” said Howard slowly. “Say, 
honest, did you mean to upset my dinner that 
day?” 

“Of course not,” sniffed Teddy, “but you 
had no business to try to stick me for five cents. 
That was just the same as stealing.” 

The fat boy colored hotly. “I don’t know 
what made me do it,” he muttered. ^^You 
hadn’t any business to call me an elephant and 
Fatty Felix. I can’t help being fat any more’n 
you can help having red hair.” 

“I guess I know that.” This time it was 
Teddy who blushed. 

“Say, I don’t think you’re a baby. You’re 
a real scrapper for a boy of your size. I kind 
of like you.” 

“You’ve got an awful punch in that right arm 
of yours,” was Teddy’s magnanimous tribute. 
“I’ll bet you hurt that man, aU right.” 

Both boys giggled. 

Down the aisle floated the Gobbler’s voice, 
“Boy, boy. Num-ber 65.” She had triumph- 
antly put over the sale of the wringer. 

“That’s my number. I’ll have to go. See 
you in school Thursday.” Teddy’s little thin 
hand shot out. A fat hand clasped it half-way. 


128 HARRY BARBING ---MESSENGER ^^45’^ 


and marked the beginning of a friendship be- 
tween the two lads that was to be the making 
of Howard Eandall. 

As Teddy hurried up the aisle and the fat 
boy lumbered off about his business, a man 
emerged from a small room not far from where 
the disastrous encounter had taken place. His 
face wore a broad smile. Seated in his office, 
through the partially-closed door, he had heard 
the boyish altercation, and had decided not to 
interfere. The surprising turn the affair took 
had convulsed him with mirth, despite his ef- 
forts to sympathize with the maltreated cus- 
tomer. He had also witnessed the end of the 
scene, and as he watched Teddy wiry, lithe 
body speed up the aisle, he murmured, ^^Mis- 
chievous as that youngster seems to be, he^s a 
boy with a future.’’ 


CHAPTER XIII 


THE MEASUBE OF A MAN 

iij ’M glad yon are going home with me to 
I supper to-night/’ was Harry’s first 
^ speech as they left the assembly room 
that evening. As the boys were obliged to line 
up for roll call before going home, the chums 
did not now have to meet on the street corner. 
“I’ve a lot to tell you.” 

“Good news?” questioned Teddy. 

“ No. ” Harry ’s face clouded. ‘ ‘ I never have 
any good news to tell. ’ ’ His voice vibrated with 
bitterness. 

“Go ahead. Tell me your troubles. After 
you’re done, I’ll tell you something funny.” 

Harry related the disheartening events of the 
afternoon. Teddy listened, his elfish face un- 
usually solemn. 

“I wish I hadn’t called your aisle man ‘some 
crank, ’ ” he deplored. ‘ ‘ That started the whole 
business.” 

“No, I don’t believe so,” disagreed Harry. 

129 


130 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ^^45^* 


you hadn’t said a word he would have 
treated me just the same. Miss Welch says he 
treats all his boys that way. I can’t go on any 
more errands for him, it wouldn’t be fair to 
Martin Brothers.” 

^‘Suppose he asks you.” 

‘‘I’ll say ‘no,’ ” was Harry’s firm response, 
“but I’ll offer to do the errand for him when 
the store closes.” 

“You’re easy if you do anything of the 
kind,” burst forth Teddy. “Why, he can’t say 
a single thing to you if you say you won’t go 
on his old errands.” 

“He can make it pretty hard for me in the de- 
partment,” reminded Harry. “He gave me 
three demerits for nothing, and Miss Leonard 
thinks I deserved them. I know she does. He 
wasn’t even cross with me for anything when 
he did that. What do you suppose he’d do if 
he really was mad?” 

“Try to get you fired, most likely.” 

Harry nodded sadly. “Sometimes I think 
I’ll leave the store before anything happens, and 
try to get work in an office. I hate to give up 
my school, though. Miss Leonard is a splen- 
did teacher. I’ve learned a good deal in the lit- 
tle time I’ve gone to school to her.” 

“So have I. She makes a fellow feel as if he 
wanted to study. I don’t mind school so much 
now. But, Harry, you mustn’t leave the store. 
What would I do without my chum?” Ted- 


THE MEASURE OF A MAN 


131 


dy^s thin hand fastened npon Harry’s shoul- 
der with a quick clutch of fellowship. 

know. I’d miss you, too. Oh, I suppose 
I might as well stay and make the best of 
things. Mother is so pleased to think I can 
work and still go to school. Don’t say a word 
to her about Mr. Barton. I haven’t.” 

“I won’t,” promised Teddy. wonder if 
your mother’ll like me?” 

‘‘Of course she will. She always likes my 
boy friends. You’ll like her. You can’t help 
it.” 

“My mother says I am to bring you home 
with me to supper. Any night that suits you’ll 
suit us.” 

‘ ‘ Does you mother ’ ’ Harry stopped. He 

was about to ask if Teddy’s mother had become 
interested in her son’s progress as a business 
boy. Then in fear of intruding upon what did 
not concern him, the rest of the question died 
on his lips. 

Teddy cast a swift, sidelong glance at him 
from under his long heavy lashes. “My mother 
likes to hear about what happens to me in the 
store. I kept telling her things, just the way 
you said you told your mother. At first she 
didn’t seem to care, but now she does. We 
have lots of talks, and last week she stayed 
home with me every night but one. That was 
the night of her club meeting. She’s a vice- 
president, so she had to go to it.” 


1 132 EAUEY EAEEING--- MESSENGER **45^^ 


‘ ^ Isn that fine ? ’ ^ glowed Harry. ‘‘I’m glad 
she likes to hear about the store. ’ ’ 

“I never had anything good to tell her about 
school,” returned Teddy, “and I didn’t want 

her to know what a ” Teddy grinned — “a — 

menace to the school I was. It’s different when 
you work, I feel more like a man.” Teddy 
drew his slender body up to its fullest height 
and stalked proudly along beside Harry, who 
was divided between laughter and approbation 
of his small companion’s newly found dignity. 
He managed to keep a sober face, however, for 
he was too fond of Teddy to run the risk of 
wounding his pride. 

“Seems funny not to go that way,” remarked 
Teddy as they passed the corner where he 
usually bade Harry good night. 

“Yes, it does seem queer for you to keep 
right on going with me,” smiled Harry. “But 
you said you had something funny to tell me. 
Go ahead with it.” 

Smiling at the recollection of the puzzled 
Italian woman who had plaintively begged to 
be conducted to Warren Street, and had been 
shovm a large part of Martin Brothers’ stock 
of house furnishings instead, Teddy related the 
circumstance, interspersing the tale with fre- 
quent giggles. 

Harry’s boyish laugh rang out at the ridicu- 
lous incident. He laughed still more when 
Teddy went on with the story of his spirited 


TEE MEASVEE OF A MAN 


133 


charge down the aisle and its nnlooked for con- 
sequences. 

‘‘It was square of yon, Ted, to ask that man 
not to report the fat hoy.’’ Harry regarded 
Teddy with affection and appreciation. It 
didn’t mnch matter, he thought, if Teddy 
couldn’t keep out of mischief. He was truth- 
ful and honest, and that was what counted in 
a fellow who was one’s best chum. “What did 
that Howard Eandall say? I suppose he didn’t 
say, ‘thank you?’ ” 

“Well, he didn’t exactly say that, but — ^he — 
I — he isn’t such a mean kid, after all. He 
said he was sorry he tried to stick me for a 
nickel, and I’m not going to call him the ele- 
phant any more. We kind of made up.” 

“I’m surprised.” The corners of Harry’s 
mouth twitched. Then he burst into laughter. 
“Don’t get mad, Ted,” he gasped, “but it’s so 
funny. He’s the last fellow I know that I’d say 
you’d be friends with.” 

“I’m not friends with him, yet,” retorted 
Teddy, flushing, “but I’m not going to put him 
in the Zoo class again, unless he gets too smart. 
Say, Harry, let’s go to the Zoo some Sunday 
afternoon, before it gets too cold. How about 
next Sunday?” 

“I’d like to go. I’ve never been there,” was 
the eager answer. 

“You haven’t! Oh, I’ve been there slews of 
times. Once Miss Alton read us a story about 


134 HAUEY HARDING ^MESSENGER ^‘45^^ 


a funny little animal named Eickey Tickey Tavi, 
that lived in a man^s house in India, and kept 
all the snakes away. There are barrels of 
snakes in India. They get into the houses and 
even into your bed and everything. This Eickey 
Tickey killed two big snakes named Nag and 
Nagaina. They were cobras and had hoods on 
their heads.’’ 

‘‘Yes, I know,” nodded Harry. “I’ve seen 
pictures of them.” 

“They’ve got two real ones at the Zoo. I 
stayed around their case one whole afternoon, 
but the stingy old things hid in a log and 
wouldn’t come out. I’m going to see ’em some 
time, though. There are lots of other funny 
things. I like to tease the monkeys and there’s 
the seals and a great big animal called a gnu. 
I always make faces at him. He stares at me so 
funny.” 

“Perhaps I can go next Sunday. I’ll let yon 
know by Friday night.” 

The walk to Harry’s home seemed very short 
to the chums. There was so much to talk about. 
Being a boy, it did not occur to Teddy to draw 
a comparison between the Harding’s tiny apart- 
ment and his mother’s large, comfortable brick 
house. He knew only that, next to his mother, 
he was sure Mrs. Harding was the nicest per- 
son in the world, and she certainly knew what 
boys liked to eat. Teddy was by no means a 
shy, retiring youngster, although he was not 


THE MEASVRE OF A MAN 


135 


overbold. He was just a normal boy, with a 
boy^s joy of living, ready to talk to anyone who 
wished to talk to him on the subjects that lie 
nearest a boy’s heart. 

After supper, Harry insisted that his mother 
go into the sitting-room and read the paper 
while he and Teddy washed and wiped the 
dishes. It was new work for Teddy, but he 
rather enjoyed it, and polished each dish as he 
dried it with an energy worthy of a better cause. 
Far from looking upon Harry with scorn be- 
cause he was willing to perform a household 
task that usually falls to a woman, Teddy thor- 
oughly enjoyed the novelty of his labor. 

When the last knife and fork were put away, 
the boys repaired to the sitting-room, where 
Mrs. Harding sat sewing industriously on a 
gown for a customer. Harry brought out a 
combination checker and backgammon-board, 
and the boys played several games of checkers. 
Harry had begun to instruct Teddy in the mys- 
teries of backgammon, when the mission clock 
on the sitting-room wall struck nine. 

^‘I’ll have to go. I promised my mother I 
wouldn’t stay later ’n nine,” said Teddy, with a 
little air of pride. She’s at home to-night 
waiting for me.” 

^‘You must come to see us often, Teddy,” 
smiled Mrs. Harding. 

‘‘Yes’m, I will. I’d like to come to see you. 
I think my mother would like to come, too.” 


136 HARRY EAEBING’— MESSENGER 


‘‘I should be pleased to meet her,’’ was Mrs. 
Harding’s courteous response, but she decided 
there was little possibility of Mrs. Burke com- 
ing to visit any person in her humble circum- 
stances. From what Teddy had told her of his 
home and his mother, she concluded that the 
Burkes were in far better circumstances than 
were she and Harry. 

‘‘Your friend Teddy is a dear, little fellow, 
Harry,” she remarked after Teddy had gone. 
“I’m so glad his mother has waked up to it.” 
Harry had repeated to her the story of Teddy’s 
home progress. “I had hard work not to smile 
when he said he thought his mother would like 
to come here. Very likely she wouldn’t look at 
us.” 

“If Teddy’s mother ever comes here once, 
she’ll come again. She couldn’t stay away, 
Mothery. She’d just have to.” Harry sidled 
over to where his mother sat sewing and slid 
a loving, loyal arm about her neck. 

Mrs. Harding dropped her work and gath- 
ered her boy into her arms. ‘ ‘ I don ’t mind hard 
work and poverty as long as I have you, little 
son,” she said tenderly. 

“But we are not going to be poor always, 
Mothery. I’m going to keep earning more 
money all the while. By the time I’m twenty- 
one, you won’t have to do a single thing but 
keep house for me. I’m going to be a business 
man by that time.” 


THE MEASURE OF A MAN 


137 


Mrs. Harding stroked her son’s cnrly head. 
“Perhaps yon will he. Who knows? I’m so 
pleased that yon are getting along so well in 
the store. No one conld help liking yon, Harry, 
yon are snch a good, thonghtfnl hoy. ’ ’ 

Harry’s sensitive face clonded briefly. He 
felt as thongh he wonld like to ponr forth to 
his mother the whole crnel trnth abont his store 
life. He wished she knew how nnjnstly he was 
being treated by Mr. Barton, yet he had a cnr- 
ions conviction that he mnst bear his cross 
alone. He mnst get nsed to being silent abont 
the things which did not please him. No great 
bnsiness man wonld pnblish the story of his 
hurts abroad, and as he intended to become a 
truly great bnsiness man he mnst be silent, too. 
Perhaps some day, when he had been promoted 
to a position of trust in Martin Brothers’, he 
would tell his mother abont these first unhappy 
days, but while he was only number 45 of the 
store messenger force, he wonld meet whatever 
came to him with a brave face and no whim- 
pering. 


CHAPTEE XIV 


THE PRICE OF HONESTY 

W HEN Harry took his station near the ex- 
change desk the next morning, it was 
with renewed determination to do his 
duty to the full as he saw it. He wondered if 
Mr. Barton would mention the errand on which 
the aisle manager had sent him the previous 
afternoon. He also speculated anxiously as to 
whether Mr. Seymour would send for him and 
demand an explanation of his absence from the 
department. The day sped on, however, and 
no summons came. Mr. Barton managed to 
keep some distance from poor little messenger 
45, and studiously avoided the boy’s uncon- 
sciously accusing eyes, whenever they happened 
to come in contact with each other at the ex- 
change desk. 

Late in the afternoon, as Harry was return- 
ing from an errand to a basement exchange 
desk, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. 
Wheeling about, he faced Mr. Barton. 

‘‘Boy, if anyone asks you about that errand 

138 


THE PRICE OF HONESTY 


139 


I sent you on yesterday, don^t you tell where 
you went. I said you had gone to the stock 
room. That’s enough for any curious people 
who come prying around here to know.” 

‘‘But I didn’t go to the stock-room, sir, so I 
couldn’t truthfully say that.” 

“You just do as I tell you. I know how to 
run this end of the store. If I need the serv- 
ices of a messenger, I am at liberty to send you 
wherever I like,” snapped Mr. Barton. 

“Then why did you not say exactly where I 
went?” asked Harry quietly. The boyish 
mouth had set in the firm lines that meant stub- 
born resistance to the end. “Why did you say 
that I had gone to the stock-room?” 

“Don’t be impudent,” hissed the man, his 
eyes narrowing. “I’m not obliged to answer 
your questions. You’re here to do as I say. 
Every other boy who has worked for me has 
done my errands and said nothing. You aren’t 
any better than the rest. Any time I have any- 
thing for you to do outside the store, you’ll do 
it, or I’ll get a boy down here that will.” 

Mr. Barton had grown angrier with every 
word he spoke. 

Harry measured the enraged aisle manager 
with a clear, searching glance in which lurked 
a shade of contempt. ‘ ‘ I give you fair warning, 
Mr. Barton, I won’t do an errand on the store’s 
time unless it is strictly on business for Mar- 
tin Brothers. I can’t help what you say about 


140 HARRY HARDING -^MESSENGER *'45^^ 


getting another boy down here, I won’t do what 
I think is unfair to the men who hired me. I Ve 
never done a dishonest thing yet, and I’m not 
going to begin now. ’ ’ 

‘‘I suppose you think you’ll go to Mr. Keene 
and tell him a pack of lies,” sneered the aisle 
manager, ‘‘rather than do me a little personal 
favor now and then.” 

“I’m not a telltale, and I’ll gladly do any 
errand you wish me to do on my lunch hour, 
or after the store closes. You are welcome to 
77ty time, but I can’t give away what doesn’t 
belong to me.” 

“You’ll do as I say,” ordered the aisle man- 
ager grimly, as though he had not heard Harry’s 
firm refusal. Then he turned on his heel and 
walked rapidly away, leaving Harry to stare 
after him, a bitter smile on his youthful face. 
He was learning the ways of men all too rap- 
idly. 

“What are you looking so gloomy about. 
Kiddy?” questioned Margaret Welch, as Harry 
strolled thoughtfully up to the desk, his hands 
behind his back. “Come here. I want to ask 
you something.” 

Harry approached the exchange clerk’s desk. 
She bent down and said in an undertone, “Were 
you and old Smarty Barton having it out over 
there?” 

Harry nodded. 


THE PRICE OF HONESTY 


141 


‘‘Did you say what I told you to say!’’ she 
asked sharply. 

“Yes, Miss Welch, I did.’^ 

“Good for you. If he has any sense he’ll 
let you alone, or Margaret Welch ’ll take a hand 
in things. You ’ll have to watch yourself harder 
than ever, Harry. He won’t have your kind of 
a boy around.” 

“Miss Welch, there aren’t many of the aisle 
managers in the store like Mr. Barton, are 
there?” 

“No, indeed,” was Miss Welch’s vigorous 
reply. “Most of them are as nice men as you’d 
care to meet anywhere. There’s only about 
three or four mistakes in the aisle-man bunch 
here, and Smarty’s one of ’em. He’s been here 
a long while and served in almost every de- 
partment in the store. If there was to be a con- 
test to find out who’s the meanest man in the 
store, everybody ’d vote for his crabship. Do 
I love him? Well, not so you could notice it. 
Does anyone else ? Nay, nay, my child. Here he 
comes, bless him. Eun along, or he’ll think 
you’re telling me everything you know.” 

Harry trotted obediently down the aisle, and 
wandering into the juvenile section of the book 
department, began reading, with longing eyes, 
the titles on the gaily-colored jackets of a table 
of boys ’ books. He was never tired of exploring 
the book department. Whenever there was a 
lull in the business of the exchange desk, he 


142 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ‘^45^* 


slipped across the space that divided the books 
from the jewelry department to spend a few 
rapturous minutes among the volumes he loved. 

On several occasions he had encountered the 
man with whom he had collided on that first, 
disastrous school morning. By this time he 
knew him to be Mr. Kexford, the buyer of the 
books. Miss Welch had given him that infor- 
mation. Mr. Eexford had invariably smiled at 
him in a kindly fashion that quite won the boy 
to him. Harry never saw him without wishing 
secretly that he had been placed in the book 
department. It would be the height of happi- 
ness to work for such a man as Mr. Eexford. 

As he stood eagerly devouring the titles with 
book-hungry eyes, a deep, pleasant voice at his 
elbow said, ‘‘Well, my boy, it’s evident that you 
like to read.” 

Harry swung about. Mr. Eexford stood 
looking at him, a half smile on his handsome, 
clean-cut face. 

“Oh, yes, sir. I’d rather read than do any- 
thing else. I’ve read some of these books. I 
get books from the Public Library.” 

“Did you ever read ‘Alice in Wonderland!’ ” 
asked the buyer. 

Harry smiled. “Long ago,” he answered. 
“I’ve read ‘Through the Looking Glass,’ and 
‘Treasure Island,’ and ‘Eobinson Crusoe’ and 
lots of books like that. I call those my baby 
books. I read adventure stories now, but I’m 


THE PRICE OF HONESTY 


143 


trying to read Shakespeare and Thackeray and 
Dickens. I don’t understand Shakespeare so 
very well yet, but I love ^ Henry Esmond’ and 
‘The Tale of Two Cities.’ ” 

Mr. Eexford’s eyebrows were elevated in 
surprise. He scrutinized Harry’s flushed, ani- 
mated face. Yes, here was a boy who really 
loved books. Such a boy would be extremely 
valuable in his department. He made mental 
note of it and resolved to set the wheels in mo- 
tion to bring about the desired end. 

“Forty-five, forty-five!” shrilled Miss 
Welch’s high voice. 

“That is I. I must go.” Harry set off up 
the aisle toward the exchange desk. 

“An obedient boy, too,” murmured Mr. Eex- 
ford, as he watched Harry bring up at the 
desk, stand in a respectfully attentive attitude, 
then hurry off on his errand. “Well, we’ll see. 
We’ll see.” 

Contrary to all expectation, Mr. Barton let 
Harry strictly alone for several days. He or- 
dered him about in his usual gruif fashion, but 
did not again broach the subject on which he 
and Harry had disagreed. Then, suddenly and 
without warning, he began a series of petty per- 
secutions of the boy that caused Miss Welch to 
glower with rage and hurl caustic remarks in 
his direction that he could hardly fail to over- 
hear. He began operations by detaining Harry 
in the department on his school mornings just 


144 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER ^^45^* 


long enough to give the appearance of delib- 
erate lateness. On the first morning this had 
happened, Miss Leonard had looked surprised, 
and accepted his excuse. On the second morn- 
ing she had looked displeased, on the third as 
well as the fourth mornings, she had scolded 
him and given him demerits. She had flatly 
refused to listen to his plea of being detained 
and responded severely that any boy who 
wished to be in his class on time, could be on 
time. 

Dropping the pleasantness with which she 
had treated him on his entrance into her room, 
she became stern and uncompromising. She 
had been greatly attracted toward Harry in the 
beginning, and it annoyed her to find him in the 
least disappointing. He already had five de- 
merits on his card and he had been in the store 
only three weeks. At the rate he was going he 
would hardly last the month. Absorbed in her 
own affairs. Miss Leonard had not inquired into 
Messenger 45 ’s record at the exchange desk, 
and, therefore, knew nothing of the boy^s trials. 
She had anticipated frequent trouble from 
Teddy Burke, but to her surprise none arose in 
his corner. One demerit, and one only, disfig- 
ured Teddy’s card. 

Poor Harry was in despair. Keenly sensitive, 
he read Miss Leonard’s attitude toward him 
only too correctly, yet he could neither do nor 
say that which would place him once more on 


THE PRICE OF HONESTY 


145 


the pleasant footing that had been his when he 
began his school work. He talked matters over 
with Teddy, who was deeply downcast over his 
chnm’s misfortunes, but could suggest no rem- 
edy beyond offering ‘Ho tell Miss Leonard all 
about it,’’ or to “punch that old snapping- tur- 
tle,” as he had fondly named Mr. Barton. 

“If he gives me any more demerits, I don’t 
know what I’ll do. Miss Welch says to go to 
Mr. Marsh about it, but I hate to be such a 
baby,” mourned Harry, as he and Teddy 
trudged home together one crisp evening in late 
October. 

“ I ’d go to him, ’ ’ advised Teddy. ‘ ‘ I wouldn ’t 
let him put it all over me like that. I’d fight 
him.” 

“Perhaps I had better go to Mr. Marsh,” 
Harry spoke with indecision. “If he gives me 
another demerit, I’ll go.” 

Harry had reason to remember his resolve 
when, early in the afternoon, Mr. Barton set 
him to straightening the cubby-hole where he 
kept his various effects and dignified with the 
title of his “office.” It was dusty work and 
when Harry had finished, there was a long 
streak of dirt across one cheek, his white collar 
bore evidences of his work, and his hands were 
dark with dust. Just as he was putting the last 
box in place, he heard Mr. Barton’s strident 
voice raised in a cry of “Forty-five, forty-five.” 

Forgetting his unsightly appearance, Harry 


146 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


rushed in the direction of the call. The habit 
of obedience was firmly ingrained. The aisle 
manager stared hard at him. ‘‘What do you 
mean by coming out on the floor in such an un- 
tidy condition?” he thundered. 

For the first time Harry remembered his dis- 
heveled and dusty appearance. 

“I came straight to you when I heard you 
call, sir. I forgot how I looked. I had just fin- 
ished cleaning your office, sir, and I hadn’t time 
to wash my hands.” 

“You should have tidied yourself before dar- 
ing to appear on the floor, even if you did hear 
me calling. Suppose Mr. Martin had seen you ? 
What would he say of such a slovenly boy? Give 
me your card. You deserve half a dozen de- 
merits. You’re luck to get off with two. Now 
go and wash your hands and face, at once.” 

“Mr. Barton,” choked an indignant voice, 
“you had no business to give that boy those de- 
merits. You did it on purpose, and I know 
why/^ 

Mr. Barton whirled and faced the exchange 
desk. Miss Welch’s blue eyes flashed with quiet 
fury. 

“You tend to your own affairs. Miss Welch. 
Don’t interfere with me. That is, if you know 
what’s good for you.” 

“I know I’m not going to see that boy 
abused,” flashed the exchange clerk. “How 
about that errand — to the stock-room?^’ 


THE PRICE OF HONESTY 


147 


A deep flush mounted to the man^s forehead. 
‘‘You mind your own business/’ he said quickly, 
his voice shaking with anger. “When Martin 
Brothers give you charge of this end of the floor, 
then you can offer your advice. But I don’t be- 
lieve you’ll be here long enough for that to hap- 
pen.” He stalked away from the desk. 

“The old scorpion,” muttered Margaret 
Welch. “He’ll never rest till he gets that poor 
kid out of here. Harry’s too honest to suit 
him. ’ ’ 

And this was precisely what Mr. Barton was 
thinking as he walked away. 


CHAPTER XV 


A FATEFUL GAME OF CATCH 

B ut while the clouds of injustice lowered 
over Harry Harding’s head, the days 
moved along far more pleasantly for 
Teddy Burke in his realm of kettles and pans 
than he had expected when first cast adrift in 
Department 40. Notwithstanding Teddy’s love 
of mischief, he had made many friends in the 
department. His impish performances were 
never directed against a particular individual, 
and they were usually so funny as to be ex- 
tremely entertaining, rather than reprehensible. 
The very sight of a slim little figure, topped by 
a brilliant red head, bobbing about between the 
rows of house furnishings was sure to be pro- 
ductive of a smile on the part of the salesper- 
sons. Teddy was in a fair way to be spoiled, 
and had he not possessed a sturdy honesty of 
purpose that spurred him on to do his work 
well, he might frequently have taken advantage 
of the good-natured tolerance with which the 
members of the department looked upon him. 

148 


A FATEFUL GAME OF CATCH 149 


Teddy was very sure that he liked everyone 
in Department 40 except the Gobbler. She alone 
was a thorn to his flesh. In the first place, the 
gobble, gobble of her loud voice sent the shiv- 
ers up and down his back. In the second place, 
she detested boys and did not hesitate to say 
so frankly in Teddy ^s presence. Then, too, she 
was continually complaining to Mr. Duffield that 
she could never find Teddy when she needed 
him. He was never in one spot for two consecu- 
tive minutes. Mr. Duffield usually listened to 
her complaints in silence, then walked away 
quickly to hide a smile. He knew, perhaps, bet- 
ter than anyone else Teddy Burke’s rapidly 
increasing usefulness. Given a commission to 
perform, Teddy carried it to an end without a 
mistake. He was quick as lightning when it 
came to grasping an idea, and rarely had to be 
told anything twice. Mr.^ Duffield, who had 
trained boys in the work of the store, realized 
that Teddy’s elfish propensities were but an out- 
let for the high-strung, brilliant temperament 
of the lad. 

Mr. Everett, too, had found time to keep a 
starboard eye on Teddy. Since the momentous 
day when Teddy had gone to the Italian wo- 
man’s rescue, and later, had pleaded for clem- 
ency for his arch-enemy, the fat boy, the buyer 
had grown daily more interested in the lively 
lad, and, unobserved, often watched Teddy at 
his work in the department. 


150 HAREY HARDING ^MESSENGER *'45^' 


So, although Teddy did not know it, he stood 
well in the eyes of the men who held his fate as 
a business boy in their hands. 

His store standing was not worrying Teddy 
one rainy afternoon, however, as he strolled 
about his department, his black eyes roving over 
the shining expanse of kitchen-ware as if to dis- 
cern if there were anything new on the placid 
surface of 40. Suddenly his black eyes sparkled 
with the joy of discovery. He made a sudden 
dive down a cross aisle and, stooping over, gar- 
nered an entirely new feather duster from a se- 
cret recess formed by two protecting ice-cream 
freezers. Only a part of the handle had been 
coyly exposed to view, and it was this same 
handle that Teddy ^s alert eyes had spied from 
afar. 

Sliding the duster behind him, he leaned 
against a table and took a comprehensive sur- 
vey of the landscape. Far down the department 
the Grobbler was holding forth, with many gob- 
bles, upon the beauties and uses of a tireless 
cooker. Her customer, a meek little man, was 
either too horrified or too interested to do other 
than stare in fascination at her rapidly moving 
lips. Chuckling gleefully, Teddy made a wide 
detour of the department and brought up at the 
far end. Sliding his hand under the lower part 
of a table of granite ware, he extracted a dus- 
ter, sparsely feathered and bearing evidences of 
long usage. Even the handle looked worn. He 


A FATEFUL GAME OF CATCH 151 


attempted to unscrew the handle from the dus- 
ter. It stuck. Slipping his hand into his 
pocket, Teddy drew forth his four-bladed pocket 
knife, his most cherished possession, and delib- 
erately pried loose the handle of the work-worn 
duster, then unscrewed it. Placing the new 
duster where the old had reposed, Teddy gath- 
ered up the parts of the now useless weapon 
for waging war against dust and slid cautiously 
back to the vicinity of the two sheltering ice- 
cream freezers. 

Bending low, he placed the duster handle at 
the same coy angle that the other had displayed. 
Then jamming the other part into his coat 
pocket, he once more made his way to where the 
new duster now reposed. Again the pocket 
knife played a brief but effective part. Teddy 
chipped off at least an inch of the end of its 
handle. Then on the wood next the handle that 
formed a casing for the feathers, he laboriously 
cut the initials S. H. One more move and his 
work would be done. Slipping slyly up to the 
half-open door of Mr. Everett’s office, Teddy 
peered in. There was no one there. Darting 
across the floor, he dipped the end of the dus- 
ter in the ink-well, giving it a lavish baptism 
of ink. Then, with the innocent air of a young 
cherub, he trotted back to the place where Sam 
Hickson kept his duster and carefully placing 
the new acquisition so that the ink-stained han- 
dle would dry, went on his way with the con- 


152 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


sciousness of having done a good deed. For 
three weeks Samuel Hickson, the red-haired 
salesman, had vainly importuned Mr. Duffield 
for a new duster, while the Gobbler gobbled in 
triumph, because she had managed to lay hands 
on a fine one, and boasted that she kept it hid- 
den where no one could find it. Now it was the 
duster of his pet aversion that he had spied 
after conducting a still hunt for it for several 
days, and as his sympathies all lay with Hick- 
son, he decided that the duster should be his. 

Teddy felt extremely pleased with himself 
after making this righteous exchange, and went 
about grinning so broadly that Samuel Hickson 
remarked curiously, ‘H’d like to know what 
you Ve been up to. Some piece of mischief, I ’ll 
be bound.” 

Teddy’s grin only widened. ‘‘Wait till to- 
morrow morning. You’re going to be su’- 
prised.” 

“I’ll warrant I shall, if you’ve anything to 
do with it,” smiled the salesman. 

“It’s a good su ’prise, though. You’ll like it, 
all right, but some other people won’t.” 

“Tell me about it now,” teased Hickson, 
amused at Teddy’s important air of mystery. 

“Nope. You’ve got to find it for yourself. 
I’ll be round when you do, but don’t you say 
a word. You just leave it to me. I know some- 
thing I ’m goin ’ to do. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ All right, youngster, ’ ’ nodded Hickson. ‘ ‘ I 


A FATEFUL GAME OF CATCH 153 


guess 111 have to wait till you get ready to talk. 
To-morrow 11 do.’^ 

At this moment Mr. Everett came toward 
them, looking sharply on both sides of him. 

‘ ‘ Were you looking for me, sir I ’ ^ In a twink- 
ling Teddy was the alert, respectful messenger. 
There was something about Mr. Everett that al- 
ways inspired him to do his best. 

‘‘Yes. You are to take this note to Mr. Eddy, 
the buyer of the upholstery. Do you know 
where the upholstery department isV^ 

“Oh, yes, sir. I know where every depart- 
ment in the store is.’’ 

Mr. Everett smiled slightly at this informa- 
tion. He did not in the least doubt it. 

Teddy was otf up the aisle almost as soon as 
the answer to Mr. Everett’s question left his 
lips. The upholstery department was on the 
second floor, so he made for the nearest stair- 
way which led to it, disdaining to wait for an 
elevator. The stairway which Teddy had 
chosen was cut in half by a balcony on which 
was a part of the sporting goods department. 
Just as Teddy set foot on the balcony landing, 
he heard a soft whistle. Coming down the bal- 
cony aisle was a tall, blue-eyed boy named Ar- 
thur Worden, who went to school in Teddy’s di- 
vision. He had been lovingly handling a num- 
ber of baseballs which a salesman had been 
showing to a customer, and which had been left 
there while the customer’s purchases were being 


154 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER **45^* 


wrapped. Now the boy raised one of the balls, 
struck an attitude in imitation of a famous 
pitcher he had seen, and commanded, Catch.’’ 

Whether it was Arthur’s intention to throw 
the ball, or whether he was merely pretending 
to do so, Teddy never knew. He saw the ball 
hurtling toward him. Instinctively, he put up 
his hands to receive it, but it merely grazed the 
tips of his fingers and went sailing over the 
balcony rail. 

The two boys stared at each other in silent 
horror. 

‘‘We’d better get out of here,” advised Ar- 
thur. 

“I guess we had. Do you s’pose that ” 

Teddy tittered softly in spite of his consterna- 
tion — ‘ ‘ it hit anyone ? ’ ’ 

“I donno. Hope not. Come on, let’s beat 
it!” 

Teddy scuttled up the half flight of stairs to 
the upholstery department, most uneasy in 
mind. Suppose somebody had been hit? It 
would surely be a surprise. It would probably 
hurt, too. Then there was the ball itself. It 
ought to be put back in the department. Teddy 
delivered the note to the buyer of the upholstery 
and departed with all speed for the first floor. 

When he arrived upon the spot where he de- 
cided the ball was likely to have landed, his ex- 
pression of dismay deepened. A small group 
of salespersons and customers had surrounded 


A FATEFUL GAME OF CATCH 155 


a tall man with a pained expression, who held 
one hand to his head, while in the other hand 
he held a globular object which Teddy had no 
difficulty in identifying. The man rubbed his 
head ruefully, then as his hand descended, 
Teddy saw that there was no hair on the top of 
that head, only a pink, angry, glistening sur- 
face with a large bump rising on the middle of 
it. 

‘ ‘ Whew ! ’ ’ breathed Teddy. ‘ ‘ That certainly 
must have hurt him.’’ Turning, he walked 
quickly away. But after he was safely back in 
his department the memory of that maltreated 
bald head would not leave him. To be sure, it 
had been an accident, but if he and Arthur had 
been attending strictly to business it wouldn’t 
have happened. Now, how was the ball to be 
put back where it belonged? If he went for- 
ward to the group and frankly admitted his part 
in the affair, it would in all probability mean 
dismissal from the store for him. Teddy de- 
cided to ask Harry’s advice on the subject be- 
fore committing himself. Although he had not 
known Harry long, he had come to lean upon 
his judgment. 

It was a sober-faced little boy who wended his 
way slowly back to department 40. 

‘‘What’s the matter, Teddy?” hailed Sam 
Hickson as he saw the red-haired boy coming 
toward him, wearing an expression of deep de- 
jection. 


156 E AERY HARDING --MESSENGER ‘‘45^^ 


‘‘Nothin^ much. I^m only thinking/^ was 
Teddy’s brief response. 

‘‘Well, don’t let it strike in and kill you,” 
warned the salesman waggishly. 

Teddy smiled, but faintly. He was hardly in 
the mood for pleasantries. 

That evening as he and Harry started up 
Commerce Street together, Teddy said in a low 
tone, “Maybe I won’t work in the store much 
longer.” 

Harry’s eyes opened wide. 

“Why not?” he demanded. “What’s the 
matter?” 

Teddy plunged into an account of the im- 
promptu game of catch that had ended so dis- 
astrously. “What had I better do? Must I go 
to Mr. Marsh and tell him?” For once Teddy 
could see nothing funny in the situation. 

Harry hesitated before answering. “Yes, 
Ted, I believe I would,” he said at last. “If 
someone else has happened to see you, Mr. 
Marsh will surely hear of it. Then it will be a 
good deal worse for you. You can explain to 
him that it was an accident.” 

“But I don’t want to tell on Arthur,” ob- 
jected Teddy. 

“You needn’t tell his name. If Mr. Marsh 
asks you, you can say you don’t wish to mention 
any names. He will probably let you off. He 
understands how one fellow feels about telling 
tales on another.” 


A FATEFUL GAME OF CATCH 


157 


‘‘Well, I guess 1^11 do as you say,’^ sighed 
Teddy. “I^d been thinking that I ought to, but 
I wanted to see you first. Ill go to him to- 
morrow afternoon. You know he will see any 
of the boys from five until half-past. I ’m afraid 
he 11 hear about it before I have a chance to tell 
him myself, though. Next time I^m sent on an 
errand maybe 111 know enough to go on about 
my business. That is, if there is any next time. 
Ill get a bunch of demerits for this, even if I 
donT get discharged, and all for a dinky old 
ball.^^ 


CHAPTER XVI 


ALL IN THE DAY^S WORK 


EDDY’S fears that the news of yester- 



day’s madness would reach Mr. Marsh’s 


^ ears before he had an opportunity to make 
a confession, were only too well grounded. 
While the boys were lining up for inspection the 
next morning, Mr. Marsh walked into the as- 
sembly room, with a grave face that spelled 
trouble for someone. 

Teddy, standing next to Harry, gave his chum 
a frantic nudge that sent him against the boy 
next to him, eliciting a grunt of disapproval 
from that lad. Harry returned the nudge with 
less force, but with as great significance. 

Mr. Marsh waited until his assistant had 
formed the line into its usual order. Every pair 
of boyish eyes was fixed on him. It was unusual 
for him to be present at the daily line-up. 

‘‘Boys,” began Mr. Marsh, in his pleasant, 
direct fashion, “something very disagreeable 
has happened. Yesterday afternoon two boys 
of the store messenger force decided to play a 


158 


ALL IN THE DAY’S WORK 


159 


game of ball on the balcony. What they were 
doing up there remains to be seen. Certainly 
they were not attending to business, or they 
would not have done what they did do. One of 
them couldn’t have been a very skilful catcher, 
for he missed the ball and it flew over the bal- 
cony rail and hit a man on the head who was 
going about the store’s business. If it had hit 
him squarely on the head, it might have injured 
him seriously. It just grazed his head, how- 
ever, but caused him intense pain. Now, I know 
that two of our boys are guilty. An employee 
of the store saw the whole thing from the first 
floor, but could not describe the boys. Those 
boys must be made to understand that we can- 
not tolerate such conduct. If they are manly 
boys, they must be very sorry by this time for 
their fault. What I came here for this morning 
is, the whole truth of the matter. I am going 
to put you on your honor. Will the two boys 
who were playing ball on the balcony yester- 
day step out of line?” 

A tense silence reigned in the room. Each 
boy eyed his neighbor furtively. Someone was 
guilty, but who? Suddenly a slim, little figure 
stepped manfully out of line, an evidence that 
honor lived in that assemblage. 

^‘I’m one of those boys, Mr. Marsh,” said 
Teddy in a clear, resolute voice. ‘‘I didn’t 
mean to hurt the man. I was going to come and 
tell you all about it this afternoon. ’ ’ Teddy was 


160 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER 


so pale that the freckles stood out like brown 
polka-dots on his set face. 

Mr. Marsh regarded him for an instant with- 
out speaking. At last he asked, ‘‘Did you throw 
the hall?’^ 

“No, sir.’’ 

“Wlio threw it?” 

“I can’t tell you, sir; that is, I don’t want 

to.” 

Mr. Marsh stared hard at Teddy. “Did you 
have the ball in the first place? Tell me just 
how it happened. ’ ’ 

“I was going to the upholstery department 
on an errand for Mr. Everett. Just as I got to 
the sporting goods balcony, a boy I know came 
along. There were some baseballs on the show- 
case. The boy picked up one and said, 
“Catch.” I don’t think he meant to throw it, 
sir. It just went before he knew what he was 
doing. I saw it coming, and put up my hands, 
but I couldn’t catch it. The first thing I saw 
when I went downstairs was the man rubbing 
his head. I was going to tell you about it then, 
but I thought. I’d better ask a friend of mine 
what to do.” 

The assembled boys listened with breathless 
interest. 

“And what did your friend say?” inquired 
Mr. Marsh enigmatically. 

“He advised me to tell you about it,” re- 
turned Teddy simply. 


ALL IN THE BAY’S WORK 


161 


Involuntarily, Mr. Marsh’s glance traveled 
down the line until it rested upon Harry Hard- 
ing. A deep flush rose to Harry’s face, but he 
met the quizzical glance with steady eyes. 

‘‘Well, Burke, I’m glad to know you are a 
manly boy, at least,” asserted Mr. Marsh, “but 
I must know who the other boy is. Someone 
else in this room is more at fault than you. 
Still, if he won’t own up to his part of this af- 
fair, and you won’t give me his name, then you 
will have to bear your punishment and his too. ’ ’ 
Mr. Marsh spoke with a decision that made Ted- 
dy ’s heart sink. 

“I’m — sorry — I can’t tell you, sir,” he stam- 
mered. 

“I’m sorry, too,” returned Mr. Marsh, 
gravely, “because I shall — — ” 

There was a sudden movement at one end of 
the line. A tall boy came awkwardly forward. 

“I’m the ki — ^boy that threw that ball. I’m 
not going to let him be blamed. It was my 
fault. ’ ’ The speaker ’s face w^as lit with a gleam 
of positive admiration as he jerked his head in 
Teddy’s direction with the word “him.” 

A murmur of astonishment went up and down 
the line. 

‘ ‘ It was just the way he says it happened. I 
wasn’t goin’ to really throw the ball. It went 
before I could stop it. I’m sorry.” The tall 
boy gulped and looked miserably at Mr. Marsh. 

“You’re a man, even though you did wrong,” 


162 HARRY EARBING — MESSENGER 


declared Mr. Marsh. He gave the word 
‘ ‘ man ’ ^ special emphasis. He wished to impress 
upon every boy present his appreciation of the 
courageous spirit that had prompted two boys 
to tell the truth, even in the face of dismissal. 

“Now, boys, because you have been honest 
with yourselves and with me, I’m going to give 
you both another chance to retrieve yourselves. 
Your names will have to go to Mr. Keene, as 
the principals in this afPair, but he has left the 
rest to me. I’m not going to allow you to go 
scot-free. That wouldn’t be fair to the boys 
who keep the rules of the store. I’m going to 
give each of you six demerits to help you re- 
member that Martin Brothers’ store isn’t a 
playground. Give me your cards.” 

Two hands went into two breast pockets with 
positive alacrity. Taking out his fountain pen, 
Mr. Marsh went to a small desk at the end of 
the room and laying the cards on top of it put 
six sinister marks on each of them. He handed 
them back with, “Tend strictly to business here- 
after, boys.” Then, with a pleasant nod to the 
young man in charge of the assembly, he left 
the room. But the little he had said had sunk 
deeper into the boyish hearts of the culprits 
than if he had given them a severe rating. 

“I never was so glad to get anything in my 
life as I was to get those demerits,” murmured 
Teddy, in Harry’s ear. “I don’t want to leave 
this store, Harry. I never knew how stuck on 


ALL IN THE BAY^S WORK 


163 


it I was until I thought I was goin^ to lose my 
job/' 

‘‘I'm glad it came out right," whispered 
Harry. ‘ ‘ I want to stay here, too — if Mr, Bar- 
ton 'll let me," he added too low for Teddy to 
hear. 

Beginning with his anxiety over Teddy's 
trouble, things seemed determined to go wrong 
with him that morning. Miss Leonard's clock 
happened to be a trifle slow and Harry arrived 
in the department at least five minutes late. 
Luckily for him, Mr. Barton was ofiF the floor 
at the time, and he escaped a demerit. Then, 
too, Miss Welch was in a bad humor — something 
quite unusual for her — over a credit that had 
been lost. 

“It's a good thing Barty didn't see you come 
in late," she remarked crossly, as Harry ap- 
proached her desk. “You want to see to it 
that you get around on time, 45." 

“Miss Leonard's clock was slow," defended 
Harry. 

“Tell that to old Smarty Barty and see what 
he says," was her short rejoinder. Then, no- 
ting the boy's hurt look, she repented her curt- 
ness and apologized, “Don't mind me, Kiddo. 
I'm cranky enough to-day to bite a ten-penny 
nail into three pieces. I've had a string of cus- 
tomers a rod long at this desk ever since the 
store opened. This is our grand annual ex- 
change day, I guess." She smiled enough to 


164 HAERY HARDING -^MESSENGER *^45^^ 


show her dimples, and Harry brightened vis- 
ibly. 

Trouble lay in wait for him, however. Not an 
hour later, as he happened to stop for a moment 
in one of the aisles of the book department, a 
man rushed up to him and asked hurriedly, 
‘‘Where will I find running water?” 

“All the way down the aisle and around the 
corner,” Harry made polite answer. The man 
rushed oft in the direction indicated, only to 
return three minutes later, looking black as a 
thundercloud. 

“See here, young man, what do you mean? 
I ask you for a book called ‘Eunning W'ater’ 
and you send me on a wild goose chase clear out 
of the department. ’ ’ 

Harry ^s look of blank amazement made the 
man angrier. 

“ I ’ll report you, you young rascal. I ’ll ’ ’ 

“I didn’t know you meant a book, sir. I 
thought you wanted a drink of water. I’m not 
in this department, but I’ll find a salesperson 
for you.” 

Harry’s tone was gravely respectful, al- 
though he had hard work to keep from laugh- 
ing. The absurdity of the situation had dawned 
upon him. 

The man’s face relaxed suddenly into a wide 
grin. “Oh, ha, ha! Ha, ha! That’s a funny 
one! All right, boy, you get me a clerk. I’ll 
wait here. Eunning water ! Ha, ha!” 


ALL IN THE DAY^S WORK 


165 


‘‘That was a narrow escape/’ smiled Harry 
to himself as, after securing the desired sales- 
woman, he hurried hack to his desk. “I seem 
to be unlucky to-day. I hope I won’t get into 
any more mixups.” 

The afternoon brought its own crosses, how- 
ever. Harry did not have an opportunity to go 
to lunch until after two o’clock. When he re- 
turned to the department, he was scolded and 
hustled here and there by Mr. Barton until he 
was ready to cry with sheer vexation. 

“I’m glad it’s almost five,” he confided to 
Miss Welch, when at last there came a lull in 
the day’s business. “I guess there’s a jinx 
on my shoulders to-day. Everything’s gone 
wrong.” 

“Half an llour more and it’ll be over,” she 
sympathized. “I’m dead tired myself. Some 
of these customers would give you the hydro- 
phobia.” 

“ Boy ! Forty-five ! ’ ’ came Mr. Barton ’s rau- 
cus call from the direction of the silverware sec- 
tion, which was a part of the jewelry depart- 
ment. 

Harry trotted obediently up the aisle. Mr. 
Barton stood at the end of the cut glass and 
sterling silver counter. Just as Harry ap- 
proached, an elaborately-dressed woman walked 
down the aisle. As she passed Harry, she 
switched close to the flat-topped glass show- 
case. Her silk sleeve brushed against a row of 


166 HARRY HARDING ---MESSENGER ^^45^* 


cut-glass powder-boxes with silver tops. There 
was a jingling, then a crash, and one of the 
larger boxes lay on the floor in fragments. 
Harry stood rooted to the spot. The woman 
hurried down the aisle and around the corner 
without a backward glance. 

^^Now see what youVe done,^’ snarled Mr. 
Barton. ‘‘You are the clumsiest boy I ever 
saw. Miss Winton,’’ a dark-faced woman came 
forward with a scowl, “how much was that pow- 
der box? This careless boy just broke it. I^m 
going to sub-slip him for it, too.’’ 

“Give me that lid,” ordered the woman, turn- 
ing to Harry. 

White with righteous indignation, Harry 
picked it up and handed it to her. 

“Seven-fifty,” she announced, after scrut- 
inizing the silver top. 

“I won’t pay it,” burst forth Harry. 
didn’t break it, and I won’t be sub-slipped. 
I’ll go to Mr. Keene, first. That customer 
broke it. I saw her with my own eyes. Her 
sleeve brushed the show-case. That box was 
right close to the edge and ” 

“None of your made-up yarns,” roared Mr. 
Barton. “You broke it and now you’re trying 
to lay it to ” 

“That will do. Barton,” cut in a stern voice. 
“I happened to see that this boy did not break 
the powder box.” 

Mr. Barton whirled to find himself staring 


ALL IN THE BAY^S WORK 


167 


into the steady, contemptuous eyes of Mr. Rex- 
ford, the book-buyer. 

‘‘If you sub-slip that boy, or even give him a 
demerit, you’ll be sorry.” Turning on his heel 
the book-buyer walked away. Nevertheless, his 
threat had the desired effect. Mr. Barton put 
the sub-slip blank he had taken from his pocket 
into it again, and with a spiteful glance at 
Harry, strode off towards the exchange desk. 

Harry stood gazing after him, too dazed to 
do anything but stare. It had all happened so 
quickly. And Mr. Rexford, that splendid man, 
had come to his rescue. A rush of grateful tears 
blinded the boy’s eyes. He winked them back, 
then moved by his feeling of gratitude he made 
straight for Mr. Rexford ’s office. 

The door stood open. Mr. Rexford was 
just about to seat himself before his handsome 
mahogany desk. 

“Oh, Mr. Rexford, I don’t know how to 
thanl^ you,” cried Harry impulsively. 

The book-buyer faced about. “Oh, it’s you, 
my boy. You had rather a bad case against you, 
didn’t you? Lucky I happened to see the whole 
thing.” 

“Yes, sir. Mr. Barton wouldn ’t have believed 
me.” 

“Yet I don’t believe you are an untruthful 
boy. What makes Mr. Barton so hard on you? 
What have you done to offend him?” 

Harry colored and was silent. 


168 HARRY HARDING --MESSENGER 45^* 


“Nothing very criminal, I’ll wager,” com- 
mented Mr. Eexford dryly. “I am fairly well 
acquainted with Mr. Barton and his methods. 
You are not the first boy I have championed. 
Now, listen to me, my boy, if you have any fur- 
ther trouble with Mr. Barton, come straight to 
me with it. I can help you.” 

“Thank you. I will, sir. I must go now. I 
hope I can do something for you some day, 
sir.” 

Mr. Eexford smiled. “Perhaps you can. 
One never knows.” 

Harry walked back to the exchange desk with 
a light heart. Mr. Eexford was his friend. He 
was glad now that he had not found the time to 
go to Mr. Marsh with his story of Mr. Barton’s 
harshness. If worst came to worst, Mr. Eex- 
ford would help him. Had he not just said 
so ? Even though he met with discouragements 
from one source, there would always be someone 
to help him in his hour of need. 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE SINGER AND THE SONG 

WONDER when school will close, re- 
I marked Harry Harding to Teddy Burke 
^ one morning in late November. It was 
now a little more than a month since the two 
chums had enlisted under the banner of Martin 
Brothers, and they had become thoroughly fa- 
miliar with the routine of store life. 

‘‘After Thanksgiving, I guess,’’ returned 
Teddy. It was a cold, blustering morning, but 
the lads swung down the street apparently un- 
mindful of the officious wind which whisked pe- 
destrians’ hats from their heads and blew the 
red into their cheeks and noses. 

“Won’t it be glorious to have a whole day 
otf glowed Harry. 

“Will it? Well, I guess maybe,” rejoined 
Teddy, his small face animated with the pros- 
pect of the coming holiday. “What are you go- 
ing to do?” 

“Oh, my mother and I are going to a restau- 
rant for Thanksgiving dinner and then I’m go- 

169 


170 HAUEY HARDING --MESSENGEB,*' 45** 


ing to take her to The Pickford, that new mo- 
tion picture house we pass every day. Oh, yes, 
we are going to church in the morning. Mother 
says everyone ought to go to church on Thanks- 
giving Day, even if one never goes any other 
time, to give thanks for one’s blessings.” 

‘‘I never go to church,” stated Teddy, cheer- 
fully unashamed. ^‘My mother used to take 
me, but I behaved so bad she quit. I go to Sun- 
day School, but not every Sunday.” 

‘^What did you ever do in church that was 
so very terrible % * ’ asked Harry, smiling. 

^‘Oh, a lot of things. Once I sang a whole 
line of a hymn after everybody else got through 
singing, and I fell out of our pew into the aisle 
and made all the folks laugh. I tied two girls’ 
sashes together once in Sunday School. They 
sat right in front of me and the ends of their 
ribbons hung dovm. Maybe they weren’t wild 
when they started to go home in different direc- 
tions. Once I lost my nickel for the collection 
plate, so I put a milk bottle check on the plate 
instead. It looked just like a quarter, but the 
man who passed the plate was pretty mad about 
it. He told my mother afterwards, and she said 
I’d better stay home, if I couldn’t behave bet- 
ter than that. So I stayed home. I guess that 
was the best place for me.” 

always go to the church that Father used 
to go to with Mother. Sometimes I get tired 
before it’s out, but sometimes I hear really in- 


THE SINGER AND THE SONG 


171 


teresting things/^ said Harry. He was still 
smiling over Teddy ^s list of iniquities. 

don’t mind the singing. It’s the sermons 
that make me sleepy. I love to sing. ” Teddy’s 
eyes glowed. think it’s fine that we have 
one morning a week for singing. My mother 
can play the piano, and sing, too. Sometimes 
she lets me sing with her. I know a lot of 
songs.” 

“I can’t sing very much,” confessed Harry, 
“but I love to hear singing.” 

“I like that Miss Verne, who plays the piano 
for us at school. She’s so small and pretty. 
She looks like a little girl dressed up in a grown 
woman’s clothes. Did you hear Miss Leonard 
tell three of the boys last Monday that Miss 
Verne wanted them to sing for her after 
school?” 

“Yes,” nodded Harry. “I heard her teh 
them. Elmer Barry told me that there is to be 
a Christmas play, or something, and these boys 
are going to sing.” 

“I wish I was going to be in it,” sighed 
Teddy wistfully. “I wouldn’t be afraid to sing 
in public. My mother says I have a good voice. ’ ’ 

“Maybe Miss Verne will ask you to be in the 
entertainment,” suggested Harry kindly, no- 
ting Teddy’s wistful look. 

“How can she when she doesn’t even know 
I can sing? I’m not going to tell her, either 
She’d think I was crazy about myself. ' 


172 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ^*45^* 


guess I’ll live if I don’t have a chance to show 
off,” ended Teddy philosophically. 

Nevertheless, that morning as Company A 
filed into the room used as a gymnasium and 
seated themselves in the rows of chairs ar- 
ranged for them, Teddy could not help cherish- 
ing a faint hope that Miss Verne would notice 
him and ask him to sing in the Christmas en- 
tertainment. There was small chance of that, 
he reflected, for this was to be their last morn- 
ing in school until after the holiday rush was 
over. School closed that Saturday, not to open 
again until after New Year’s. 

^‘Now, boys,” began Miss Verne, after Com- 
pany A had sung several songs of her suggest- 
ing, ‘‘I am going to teach you such a pretty, 
new song this morning. You’ll like it, I’m sure. 
Listen while I play and sing the first verse for 
you.” After a rollicking introduction on the 
piano, she began a delightful little popular song 
that had just recently been published and was 
fast gaining popularity. Although Miss Verne 
frequently chose popular music for the boys to 
sing, she was extremely careful in her choice of 
songs, and never presented any which could be 
classed as vulgar or over-sentimental. 

She played and sang the verse to the boys 
three times, then said brightly, ‘‘Now, boys, you 
try it.” 

With the quick ear for music possessed by the 
majority of children, the boys took up the first 


THE SINGER AND THE SONG 


173 


two or three lines of the song at once. They 
wavered on the fourth line, and at the fifth there 
was only one boy singing in perfect time with 
the accompaniment. But that boy was well 
worth listening to. His clear, soprano voice 
sang on, growing stronger and surer with every 
breath. The song ended with a gay little run 
up to a fairly high note. The boy took the run 
exquisitely, holding that note for an instant. 
Miss Verne’s hands dropped from the piano. 
‘‘Come up here,” she commanded, beckoning to 
the boy who had sung so sweetly. 

With his freckled face only a shade paler than 
his hair, Teddy Burke reluctantly ascended the 
platform. In spite of his boastful denial that 
he wouldn’t be afraid to sing in public, Teddy 
was decidedly embarrassed. , He had not meant 
to sing a solo. As it happened, the song was 
one which he had heard his mother practising 
for the past week to sing at a club entertain- 
ment. It had appealed to Teddy from the mo- 
ment he had first heard it, and happy in the love 
of letting out his voice in sweet sounds he had 
sung on, wholly unconscious of singing alone, 
until the end of the song. The dead silence 
which followed it, and Miss Verne’s command 
to come to the piano had awakened him to what 
he had done. 

“What’s your name?” asked the pretty little 
woman abruptly. 

“Teddy — Theodore Burke, ma’am.” 


174 HARRY HAEBING -^MESSENGER ^*45^* 


‘‘Well, Teddy, who taught you to sing?’’ 

“No one — I mean — I hear my mother sing 
and I sing, too, ’ ’ stammered Teddy. 

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you have 
a beautiful voice ? ’ ’ 

Teddy’s face blazed with fresh embarrass- 
ment at the complimentary grilling he was un- 
dergoing. He hung his head and made no 
reply. 

“Well, if no one else ever told you, I am go- 
ing to tell you now,” Miss Verne said in brisk 
fashion. “You are just the boy I am looking 
for to sing the leading part in the Christmas 
musical play we are getting up. Would you like 
to sing in it?” 

“Yes, ma’am. I mean, no, ma ’am. I don’t — 
know — ^whether I would like it or not,” floun- 
dered Teddy. 

“Of course you would. The only part you 
won’t like is rehearsing after the store closes.” 

“I don’t mind admitted the boy. 

“All right. Take your seat. I’ll talk with 
you about it after singing is over. Miss Leon- 
ard, may I keep this boy here for a moment 
after the others are gone?” 

Miss Leonard bowed a smiling assent. She 
was very proud to think that one of her boys 
was to be honored. 

“Now, boys,” she returned to her class again. 
“Let’s try our song once more.” 

Teddy Burke finished the rest of the singing 


THE SINGER AND THE SONG 


175 


period in a delightful daze. Once he gave his 
hand a wicked little pinch to see if he were really 
awake. He pinched himself hard enough to 
leave an angry red spot, so he ruefully con- 
cluded that he was not dreaming. Every now 
and then he glanced shyly at Harry, who beamed 
at him in a way that left no doubt in Teddy’s 
mind of Harry’s pleasure in his good fortune. 

Harry was unselfishly glad that his friend 
was to have the longed-for chance to sing, par- 
ticularly so since he had heard the boy’s sweet 
voice. He waited anxiously about for a mo- 
ment after school was over, thinking perhaps 
Miss. Verne would take time merely to make an 
appointment with his chum after the store 
closed. 

Don’t loiter here, Harry,” reproved Miss 
Leonard rather coldly. Although the boy was 
the soul of good behavior in school, she did not 
trust him. The growing number of demerits 
on his card influenced her against him, and in- 
stead of inquiring into matters, she placed a 
secret ban of disapproval upon him and pri- 
vately characterized him as one of those boys 
who were well-behaved when watched, and then 
only. Usually clever in her reading of boy char- 
acter, she was wholly in error as far as Harry 
was concerned, an error which time alone could 
rectify. 

Harry glanced wistfully toward the gymna- 
sium, then he went sadly downstairs. Miss 


176 HARRY HARDING ---MESSENGER *^45^^ 


Leonard did not like him. She did not trust 
him. She believed the story of his report card. 
She would never know that he hhd not deserved 
all those demerits, for he could never tell her. 
How beautifully everything was going for 
Teddy. He wondered what would have hap- 
pened to Teddy, had their positions been re- 
versed. Suppose Teddy had been placed at the 
exchange desk, while he, Harry, had taken Ted- 
dy ^s place in the house furnishings. Teddy was 
such a droll little boy. Perhaps Mr. Barton 
would have liked him. Then he remembered 
Miss Welch had said that Mr. Barton had never 
been kind to any of the various boys who had 
been stationed at the exchange desk. Harry 
gave a little sigh, then involuntarily straight- 
ened his shoulders. He was better fitted to 
bear harsh treatment than his chum. Teddy 
would have flared at the first cross word on the 
part of the crabbed aisle manager. He would 
have rebelled, defied Mr. Barton, delivered a 
most uncomplimentary opinion of him to his 
face, and thep he would have walked out of the 
store without waiting to be discharged. That 
was precisely what Teddy would have done. 

‘H^m glad Teddy’s in a nice department and 
glad folks like him,” was Harry’s honest re- 
flection, as he walked down one of the aisles of 
the book department to the exchange desk. 
suppose ‘what is to be, will be.’ That’s what 
Mother always says. Maybe there’s a better 


TEE SINGER AND THE SONG 


177 


day ahead for me, too. Only I guess it’s so far 
ahead I can’t see it.” 

But while he peered hopefully into the veiled 
future, that ‘‘better day” was not far distant, 
although he was destined to pass through one 
more ordeal before it dawned. 


CHAPTER XVin 

CONFIDENCES 

^^^"X^EDDY BURKE, I was never so glad in 
I all my life as when Miss Verne called 
you to the piano, this morning ! ’ ’ ex- 
claimed Harry, as he and Teddy passed out 
the door that night and stepped into the street. 
It was the first opportunity the two boys had 
had for conversation since Teddy’s remarkable 
vocal demonstration that morning. 

‘‘I was never so surprised in my life,” re- 
turned Teddy, almost sheepishly. forgot all 
about the other fellows. I learned that song 
from hearing my mother sing it. I didn’t know 
everybody ’d stopped singing till I quit singing 
myself.” 

hadn’t any idea you could sing like that,” 
praised Harry, warmly. 

‘‘Oh, I’m not so much. I guess there are a 
lot of fellows in school that can sing better ’n 
I can.” 

“I don’t believe it. Your voice is — ^is just 

178 


CONFIDENCES 


179 


splendid/’ Harry glowed with enthusiasm. 
“I’m so glad everything is going so well for 
you, Ted.” 

“It’s you that ought to have things fine and 
dandy,” retorted Teddy, in a hurst of loyalty. 
“If it hadn’t been for you I’d of hated school, 
and acted up and been discharged from the store 
long ago.” 

Harry’s earnest face flushed with pleasure. 
Teddy’s good opinion was very sweet. There 
were at least three persons who believed in him, 
Teddy, Mr. Eexford and Miss Welch. 

“It’s a shame you have to work for that 
cranky old aisle man,” continued Teddy. “Why 
don’t you ask to be transferred? You didn’t 
talk to Mr. Marsh. You said you were going 
to, you know.” 

“I thought I’d try to stick it out. I hated to 
begin complaining the very first thing. If only 
Mr. Barton would believe in me. ’ ’ Harry ’s face 
fell as he mentioned the aisle manager’s name. 

“He wouldn’t believe in the President of the 
United States,” was Teddy’s scornful reply. 

Harry smiled at this. “I try not to think 
about him when I’m out of the store. All I’m 
afraid of is that he’ll be worse when the Christ- 
mas rush begins. Miss Welch says an angel 
would get mad then.” 

“I don’t think our department’s going to be 
so very busy,” commented Teddy. “People 
aren’t going to give clothes baskets and tin pans 


180 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


and wringers and ice-cream freezers for pres- 
ents/^ 

^‘Jewelry’s going to be pretty busy, I sup- 
pose; and books, too. I wish I’d get a whole 
cartload of books for Christmas.” 

‘‘Maybe you might get some.” Teddy reg- 
istered a private vow that he would play Santa 
Claus to Harry in that respect. 

“Mother always gives me one.” Harry 
brightened. His mother’s simple presents to 
him were sacred. “What did Miss Verne say 
to you, to-day?” 

“I have to stay to-morrow night. She’s go- 
ing to give me my part in the Christmas play 
and begin to teach me the songs.” Teddy 
looked important. “She told me all about the 
play. Every year the boys give one in Martin 
Hall. It’s a place in the store where they give 
all the entertainments. We have to give the 
play every afternoon for two weeks before 
Christmas. It’s for the children whose moth- 
ers bring ’em to the store to see Santa Claus. 
There’s going to be a Santa Claus in this show. 
It’s all about a boy who didn’t like Christmas, 
and didn’t believe there was a Santa Claus. 
I’m to be that boy. ’ ’ Teddy looked very proud. 

“How splendid!” breathed Harry. “I hope 
I can see it.” 

“I hope you can,” nodded Teddy, “but if 
you come to it, don’t you dare look at me, or I’ll 
burst right out laughing.” 


CONFIDENCES 


181 


The boys trudged home through the bleak 
November night, talking of the wonderful honor 
that had come to Teddy. When Harry reached 
home he could not eat his supper until he had 
related the day’s happenings to his mother. 

‘‘Teddy seems to be a very lucky boy,” com- 
mented Mrs. Harding. 

“Yes, he is.” There was no trace of envy 
in Harry’s sensitive face. 

“I wish something just as nice would happen 
to my boy,” said his mother fondly. “You 
never say much of yourself, dear child.” 

“Oh, there isn’t anything to tell, Mothery. 
I just work and that’s all. Wait until some- 
thing big happens to me. You’ll be the first one 
to hear it. Isn’t it fine that we are going out 
together on Thanksgiving Day?” He changed 
the subject abruptly. They were on dangerous 
ground. His mother must never know how lit- 
tle possibility there was of anything “big” hai>- 
pening to him. 

“I’m very proud to think my son is going 
to take me out.” His mother came over to 
Harry and kissed him. 

“You’re the best mother a fellow ever had,” 
murmured Harry. What were a few hardships 
to him, compared to the satisfaction of being 
able to give his mother pleasure with the money 
he had earned by his own labor. ‘ ‘ I hope Ted ’ll 
have a nice time with his mother. Thanksgiving. 
I must ask him what he’s going to do.” 


182 E AERY HARDING ’-^MESSENGER** 45*^ 


Harry did not see his chum the next morn- 
ing. For once, Teddy failed to be at their usual 
meeting place. The two boys did not meet until 
they happened to come together in the lunch- 
room at noon. For once, Mr. Barton had al- 
lowed Harry to go to lunch on time. Usually, 
he kept the boy at the exchange desk until long 
after the time he had first assigned to him to 
go to lunch. 

was late. My mother overslept this morn- 
ing. I had to hustle to get here. I was only 
ten minutes late, though. Mr. Duffield didnT 
scold. My, but he^s good. He just said, ^Try 
not to be late again. ^ Mr. Hickson says he’s 
always like that to everybody. Mr. Hickson’s 
a pretty good fellow, too. I’d do most anything 
for him. I like all the folks in kettles and pans, 
except the old Gobbler. Maybe she didn’t gob- 
ble the other day, though.” Teddy launched 
forth with the tale of the purloined feather dus- 
ter. ‘‘You ought to have heard her gobble the 
next morning when she went to fish out her 
duster and got nothing but a handle.” He gig- 
gled gleefully at the memory. “I was watching 
her to see what she’d do. She made a lot of 
fuss. She went around making the folks in the 
department show her their dusters to see if any 
of ’em had hers.” 

“But didn’t she know her duster when Mr. 
Hickson showed it to her?” asked Harry, his 
eyes dancing with amusement. 


CONFIDENCES 


183 


‘‘He didn’t happen to he on the floor when 
she was going around the department. Te, he ! 
I went and got the duster and took it over to 
her. She was telling Mr. Duffield her troubles. 
‘Is this your duster, Miss Newton?’ I asked. 
That’s her real name. She looked at it and 
gobbled, ‘ That duster, mine ? No, sir. My dust- 
er ’s brand new. That ’s all cut up, and the top ’s 
gone.’ So I put it away again. Maybe Mr. 
Hickson didn’t laugh when I told him. He said 
he was even with her now for taking a big sale 
away from him the other day.” 

“You’re a bad boy, Teddy,” laughed Harry. 
But his tone contained little rebuke. 

“I’m good sometimes,” defended Teddy 
stoutly. “Doesn’t it seem funny to think we 
won’t have to go to school any more until after 
Christmas?” Teddy preferred not to speak of 
his shortcomings. 

“I’m sorry, aren’t you?” 

“Well,” Teddy squinted reflectively, “school 
isn’t so bad. I have a pretty good time in my 
department, though. How’s dear, kind Mr. Bar- 
ton to-day?” he asked sarcastically. 

“Dear, kind Mr. Barton has been quite mild 
lately. I hope it lasts. ’ ’ 

“He’s glad he’s going to get a holiday. He 
has something to be thankful for on Thanks- 
giving. He can be thankful he isn’t any uglier 
than he is, ’ ’ berated Teddy. 

Strangely enough, Mr. Barton’s mild mood 


184 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER ^*45^^ 


remained with him, and when Harry left the 
department on Wednesday night he felt more 
cheerful than since he had first taken up his 
work at exchange desk Number 10. 

Thanksgiving came and went, bringing to the 
two lads the sweetness of their first hard-earned 
holiday. Harry and his mother followed to the 
letter the programme he had outlined to Teddy. 
Imbued with the spirit of Harry ^s gallantry to 
his mother, Teddy solemnly proposed to Mrs. 
Burke that he accompany her to church on 
Thanksgiving morning. To his secret delight, 
she made no protest and, when dressed in his 
Sunday best, Teddy marched decorously along 
beside her to the church which she attended, 
she felt a strange, new thrill of pride in her son. 
It seemed to her that she was just beginning to 
become acquainted with him. That afternoon 
she did the honors and took Teddy to a won- 
derful play for children that was having a pop- 
ular run at one of the theatres, and on Thanks- 
giving night mother and son spent a blissful 
evening at home, at the piano, trying over the 
songs that Teddy was to sing in the play, which 
Miss Verne had painstakingly copied for him. 

Teddy was bubbling over with joy the follow- 
ing morning, when he and Harry met. The two 
lads compared notes and decided unanimously 
that it was the best Thanksgiving they had ever 
spent. 


CHAPTER XrX 


“W^ 


THE BEIATED DAWK 

^ATCH yourself, Harry,’’ was the 
greeting he received from Miss 
Welch as he went to his station, 
still glowing with yesterday’s happiness. 
“Smarty Barty’s on the warpath. I guess his 
Thanksgiving dinner didn’t agree wtih him.” 

Although Miss Welch did not know it, that 
was precisely what ailed Mr. Barton. Being 
afflicted with dyspepsia, he had eaten to his sor- 
row, and when he stalked into his section that 
morning, he was ready to snap at the first un- 
lucky person who might offend him. 

By prompt obedience to orders, Harry man- 
aged all morning to avoid a clash with Mr. Bar- 
ton. Just before twelve o’clock, however, the 
aisle manager swooped down upon him with, 
‘‘Here, boy, take this money over to Miss Exley 
in the perfumes and get it changed. Bring it 
back to me, and hustle. Miss Rowe, at the book 
desk, is waiting for it.” 

Harry was instantly off on his errand. He 

185 


186 HARRY HARDING ---MESSENGER *^45^* 


was frequently intrusted with a five-doUar bill 
to be changed. This morning, however, it was 
a yellow-backed twenty-dollar note that Mr. 
Barton handed to him. Hurrying to Miss Ex- 
ley’s desk, he handed her thel money. She 
grumbled at having to part with her small notes, 
but counted out four crisp five-dollar bills, and 
thrust them into the boy’s hand with, ‘‘Take 
that to Mr. Barton, and don’t you dare lose it.” 

Three minutes later the notes lay in the aisle 
manager’s hand. In that same instant, how- 
ever, he was besieged by an irate customer, who 
demanded that he sign her check for the return 
of a bracelet which had been sent to her in place 
of one she had purchased. Intent on pacifying 
the woman, he accompanied her to Miss Welch’s 
desk, the money in his hand. 

It took at least fifteen minutes to rectify the 
mistake, and send the woman on her way with 
the bracelet she had originally purchased safely 
in her shopping bag. 

“After that, it’s me for lunch,” announced 
Miss Welch grimly. “I need food to sustain 
me until the next trouble hunter hits this desk.” 
Mr. Barton mumbled a disgruntled reply and 
stalked off up the aisle in answer to a frantic 
call from a salesman in the books. 

“I hope Mr. Barton lets me go to lunch on 
time to-day,” reflected Harry. “It isn’t a bit 
busy. Here he comes back again. I wonder if 
I dare ask him. My, but he looks cross.” 



“I GAVE THIS BOY A TWENTY-DOLLAR NOTE TO TAKE OVER 
TO MISS EXLEY TO CHANGE.” 

Harry Harding — “Messenger 45” Page 187 



TEE BELATED DAWN 


187 


thundered the aisle man, approach- 
ing Harry almost on a run. ‘‘Where’s that 
money I gave you to change?” 

“I -gave it to you, sir,” replied Harry. 
“Don’t you remember, I ” 

“You gave me nothing,” stormed the man. 

“Oh, yes I did, sir,” Harry’s voice rose in 
an anxious note. 

“You did not. I say you did wo^.” The aisle 
manager’s voice soared to a hoarse bellow of 
rage. 

“Whaf’s this? What’s this?” demanded a 
stern voice. Mr. Seymour, the floor superin- 
tendent, had come up in time to hear Mr. Bar- 
ton’s words. 

“I gave this boy a twenty-dollar note to take 
over to Miss Exley to change. Now he says he 
gave it to me. I tell you, he didn’t. He has 
lost it or else he has stolen it.” 

‘ ‘ Stolen it ! Oh, Mr. Barton ! ’ ’ rang out Har- 
ry ’s agonized cry. 

“What have you done with that money, young 
man?” thundered Mr. Seymour. 

‘ ‘ I gave it to Mr. Barton, sir. I came straight 
from Miss Exley ’s desk and gave it to him.” 

‘ ‘ He didn ’t. I haven ’t seen it. ’ ’ Mr. Barton 
glared vindictively at Harry. “Search that 
boy. He ’s taken it. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Come with me. ’ ’ Mr. Seymour grasped the 
stunned, unresisting boy by the arm and steered 
him to the nearest elevator. 


188 HARRY EAEI)ING---UESSENGEE 45’^ 


‘‘Oh, Mr. Seymour, I didn’t take it. Please 
believe me. I didn ’t. ’ ’ 

“Hold your tongue. Get into that elevator. 
We ’ll soon find out whether you did or not. I ’m 
going to have you searched.” 

The three passengers in the elevator eyed the 
boy askance. 

“He’s stolen something,” whispered one of 
them to the other. “They’re taking him to the 
store detective’s office.” 

Harry heard the whisper. “Oh, please ” 

he began. His voice died away in a half sob. 
The elevator stopped at the fourth floor. He 
was hustled roughly off it and down a narrow 
passage to a door which he had learned to know 
led to the room where the force of store detec- 
tives searched the persons they caught stealing 
Martin Brothers’ wares. A stern-faced man 
seated at a desk rose to meet them as they en- 
tered. 

“Search this boy,” commanded Mr. Sey- 
mour. “Barton says he has stolen twenty dol- 
lars.” 

Then the most humiliating moment of Harry 
Harding’s short life began. The search did not 
reveal the missing money, however. For half 
an hour the detective kept up a merciless grill- 
ing of the unfortunate boy. Harry’s brief de- 
sire to cry had vanished. With pale, set face, he 
repeated over and over again, “I didn’t take it. 
I gave it to Mr. Barton.” 


THE BELATED DAWN 


189 


‘‘Send for Barton,’^ ordered the detective. 
Mr. Seymour left the room on his errand. The 
detective eyed the boy angrily. His patience 
was becoming exhausted. 

“You’d better own up, youngster. If you 
don’t ” 

The door was suddenly flung open and two 
persons fairly rushed into it. One of them was 
Miss Welch. Her face was white with rage. 
Her blue eyes shot fire. In her hand was 
clutched four five-dollar notes. 

“There’s your old money,” she cried, throw- 
ing it on the desk. ‘ ‘ Oh, Kiddy, what a shame ! ’ ’ 
She ran to Harry and encircled him with pro- 
tecting arms. Then she turned fiercely upon 
the detective. “You ought to be ashamed of 
yourself. Torturing this poor boy, before you 
stop to find out things. Look at him, the poor 
lamb. His heart’s broken. Why don’t you take 
somebody your own size? He did give the 
money to Mr. Barton, just as he said he did. 
The old trouble-hunter laid it in my exchange 
book and I just now found it. Maybe I didn’t 
hot-foot it up here!” 

“See here, miss, this boy was brought to me 
for stealing. How was I to know ” 

“You didn’t know,” broke in the person who 
had accompanied Miss Welch. It was Mr. Eex- 
ford. “This boy is innocent. I’ll be respon- 
sible for him. You can settle this with Bartom 
Come, Harry.” 


190 HARRY HARDING -^MESSENGER ^^45^’ 


As one in a dream, Harry fonnd himself 
leaving the hated room between his two pro- 
tectors. 

“Now, my boy,^’ said Mr. Eexford grimly, 
“we are going to settle matters once and for 
all. I’m going to take yon to Mr. Keene, and 
he is going to give yon a transfer slip. I need 
a boy like yon in my department, and if yon are 
not working for me within the next ten minntes, 
then my name isn’t Henry Eexford.” 

Harry Harding’s “better day” had dawned. 


CHAPTER XX 

TEDDY TRIUMPH 

LTHOUGH only the width of an aisle 



separated Harry Harding from his for- 


mer station at Exchange desk Number 
10, it seemed to him as if he had entered into a 
new and wonderful realm. Three busy, happy 
weeks had glided swiftly by since that bitter 
morning when, crushed by Mr. Barton ^s shame- 
ful accusation, he had been haled to the detec- 
tive’s office and searched for the missing twenty 
dollars. 

From the moment when, vindicated from the 
aisle manager’s unjust charge, he had walked 
out of that hateful office under the protection of 
Miss Welch and Mr. Rexford, he felt that he 
was leaving his misfortunes behind him, that 
for him the “better day” of which he had 
dreamed was, indeed, a reality. Five minutes 
confidential conversation between Mr. Keene 
and Mr. Rexford had resulted in the transfer- 
ring of Harry from the exchange desk to the 
book department. Mr. Rexford had also in- 


191 


192 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER *^45^^ 


sisted on taking Harry to Mr. Marsh. There 
was another short, private confab, then Harry 
was called upon to present his much-marked 
report card to Mr. Marsh. That kindly man 
tore it in bits and writing Harry ^s name on a 
fresh card, handed it to him with a pleasant, 
‘^Well, my boy, I think you can be trusted to 
keep this card clear of demerits.’^ 

But when Harry reached the department of 
which he had so often vainly sighed to be a part, 
the greatest joy of all was his. Mr. Eexford 
did not intend him to be a messenger. He was 
to be a stock boy, and his salary was to be in- 
creased to four dollars a week. Thus in one 
eventful day the current of his life was changed, 
and through shame and suffering he came into 
his own. 

During those first, blissful days among the 
books, Harry ^s alfection for Mr. Eexford was 
so great that it made him feel like crying. Grad- 
ually, however, he regained his normal poise, 
and tried to show his gratitude by giving the 
best possible service to the man who had fought 
for him in his hour of need. Of Mr. Barton 
Harry saw little. To be sure, he was still aisle 
manager in the book department, but he passed 
Harry with averted head, or, if they chanced 
to meet face to face, with no sign of recognition. 
He had been lectured most severely by Mr. Sey- 
mour for his hasty accusation against Harry 
on that disastrous day. Mr. Prescott, the detec- 


TEDDY^S TRIUMPH 


193 


tive who had searched Harry, had also rated 
him scathingly, and Miss Welch, aside from bus- 
iness transactions, treated him with a sweeping 
contempt that was more humiliating to the 
crabbed man than he cared to admit even to him- 
self. He had learned a lesson, however, that 
he was not likely to forget, and the boy who 
took Harry ^s place at the exchange desk profited 
by Harry’s suffering in that Mr. Barton ac- 
corded him at least fair treatment. 

December brought with it the great annual 
rush that precedes Christmas. Day after day 
the store was crowded with busy shoppers, and 
though the employees of Martin Brothers ’ store 
had much to contend with, still the spirit of 
Christmas which is yearly being lived up to 
more faithfully by the customers in the treat- 
ment of those who serve their never-ending 
wants, pervaded the whole establishment. 

Harry Harding spent little time in the de- 
partment. All day long he worked like a beaver 
in the stock-room on the tenth floor of the store, 
coming into the department merely to bring 
down truckload after truckload of books to fill 
up the constantly diminishing tables. For, at 
the holiday season, the book department reaped 
its richest harvest, and the demand for its wares 
never seemed to lessen. 

Those were halcyon days for Teddy Burke, 
too. Not because of the rush of business in his 
department, although trade was brisk, and a 


194 EAERY HAEBING --‘MESSENGER ^*45’^ 


few new salespersons had been added to the 
honse-fnrnishings force, but for the delightful 
reason that he was the most talked-of boy in 
school. 

As the chief actor in the little play that was 
being daily given in Martin Hall, Teddy was 
covering himself with glory. Miss Verne had 
spared no pains in training him for his part of 
‘‘Dicky Darrow,’^ the boy who didn’t believe in 
Santa Claus, and Teddy displayed a histrionic 
ability that astonished all who were fortunate 
enough to witness the musical play. 

It may be said to Teddy’s credit that much 
adulation had not turned his head. Off the 
stage he was the same old Teddy, and far from 
given to swaggering he showed a positive dis- 
taste for crowing over the fresh laurels that he 
daily won. 

“A lot of these people make me tired,” he 
grumbled to Harry as they trudged home to- 
gether one snowy evening. “I wish they would 
not come around talking to me about my voice 
and all that foolishness. ’ ’ 

“But, Teddy, you’ve a right to be proud of 
yourself, ’’was Harry ’s hearty praise. ‘ ‘ Every- 
body ’s talking about you. I’m crazy to see the 
show. Two more days and the rush will be 
over. Then the boys will all have a chance to 
hear you sing and see you act.” 

Mr. Keene had arranged for a special per- 
formance to be given for the benefit of the em- 


TEDDY^S TRIUMPH 


195 


ployees after the store closed on Christmas eve, 
and Harry was eagerly looking forward to see- 
ing Teddy in his wonderful part. Harry had a 
delightful secret he was hugging to his breast, 
and he could hardly wait for the time to come 
to carry it out. 

‘H’m glad thatT be the last of it,’’ returned 
Teddy. came to this store to be a business 
man, like Mr. Everett, not to sing for a lot of 
folks who think they’re goin’ to hear something 
wonderful. Just you remember, Harry Hard- 
ing, not to dare look at me when I’m singing, 
or I’ll laugh; see if I don’t.” 

“I’ll turn my back to the stage,” promised 
Harry, with twinkling eyes. 

“Now you’re making fun of me,” declared 
Teddy, with a snicker. “If I should happen to 
look out at the audience and see nothin’ but 
your back, I’d laugh all right. I guess you’d 
better look at the stage, if you don’t look too 
hard. My mother ’s been to hear me sing three 
times. She thinks I’m some son.” 

“My mother was here yesterday. She thinks 
so, too. You are kind of an adopted son of hers, 
you know.” 

“I guess I’m lucky to have two mothers,” 
nodded Teddy, his small face glowing. 

Teddy had become a frequent visitor at the 
Harding’s humble home, while Harry had paid 
several visits to the Burkes. Mrs. Harding and 
Mrs. Burke had also met, liked each other on 


196 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER **45^^ 


sight and a vigorous friendship had sprung up 
between the two little families. In fact, Harry 
and his mother were to spend Christmas Day 
with the Burkes and the boys were looking eag- 
erly forward to the occasion. 

On the day before Christmas, trade slackened 
in the store. Here and there, through the rap- 
idly thinning aisles, dilatory customers wan- 
dered who had refused to obey the mandate to 
do their Christmas shopping early, while shrewd 
bargain hunters darted about, ready to pounce 
upon any article that had been ‘‘marked down” 
at the last moment. 

But even these indefatigable shoppers drifted 
out of the -store, one by one, and at the last the 
welcome ringing of “closing” gongs in all parts 
of the store proclaimed that another holiday 
rush had passed out to keep company with the 
shades of past busy seasons. 

Harry Harding was positively thrilling with 
excitement, as he hurried to the assembly room 
to form in line for the triumphal march to Mar- 
tin Hall. The hour had come when he was to 
witness his chumps triumph. A number of rows 
of seats had been reserved for the store mes- 
sengers, and as Harry marched into the hall 
with his work-a-day comrades to the inspiring 
strains of Sousa ^s “Salute to the Colors,” 
played by the store orchestra, he was wrought 
up to a high pitch of pleasurable emotion. 

Once seated, his "n"es never left the curtain 


TEDDY^S TRIUMPH 


197 


that hid his chum from view, and as with a 
warning tinkle of the bell it rose, disclosing a 
pretty living room in which two boys were 
seated, he could have shouted out of sheer joy. 

The play began with a discussion between two 
little boys in regard to the reality of Santa 
Claus. The opening lines were Teddy’s, and 
the first sound of his clear young voice utter- 
ing the emphatic words, ‘‘I don’t believe in 
Santa Claus, so there!” thrilled Harry through 
and through. After a short dialogue, Teddy 
sang his first song, There is No Santa Claus,” 
and the boy who played the part of his brother 
responded to it with, ‘‘Santa Will Come To- 
night. ’ ’ 

Although the other boy’s voice was sweet and 
true, the interest of the audience was centered 
in Teddy. He was obliged to repeat part of his 
song before his listeners would allow the play 
to proceed. More dialogue followed in which 
the boys agreed to steal downstairs to the liv- 
ing-room after the household were asleep to 
watch for the coming of their patron saint. 
Then followed a beautiful duet, “We’ll Watch 
for Him To-night,” which closed the act. 

The second act opened with the stealthy en- 
trance of the boy watchers. Dicky’s brother 
was given the opening song, “When Santa 
Comes Down the Chimney,” and Teddy an- 
swered it with a funny little song, “Seeing is 
Believing.” 


198 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ‘^45” 


Then followed a brisk dialogue which died 
out as two drowsy youngsters succumbed to 
sleep on each side of the fireplace, only to 
waken as a cuckoo clock sang out the hour of 
midnight. A faint jingling of distant sleigh- 
bells sounded and a surprising thing happened. 
The big fireplace opened wide and a radiant 
white figure, glittering with diamond dust, 
stepped out. She waved a wand. The chime 
of bells grew louder and in dashed Santa Claus, 
perched in a tiny sleigh, drawn by eight little 
boyS( in queer, tight-fitting broAvn suits and 
close-fitting hoods, topped with funny little 
antlers. They stamped and curvetted in true 
reindeer style, then stepped out of harness and 
sang, ‘‘Eun, Eun, Eun, You Little Eeindeer.’^ 

A serious time followed for the abashed 
Dicky. Santa Claus rated him soundly in a 
queer, shrill voice, and the eight reindeer wag- 
ged their antlered heads in stern disapproval. 
The radiant figure, which was none other than 
the Spirit of Christmas, sang a tuneful num- 
ber, ‘‘What Shall We Do with Dicky?’’ and 
Santa Claus answered with, “Try Him for Un- 
belief.” Dicky protested with, “I Won’t Be 
Tried in Court,” but the eight reindeer seized 
him and dragged him before Santa Claus. 

Then followed a funny trial scene in which 
the prosecutor was the Spirit of Christmas, the 
eight reindeer the jury, and the judge, Santa 
Claus, who condemned him to go without pres- 


TEDDY^S TRIUMPH 


199 


ents every Christinas until he acknowledged the 
reality of Santa. 

The play ended with Dicky ^s remorseful 
solo, “I Believe in Santa at Last,’’ while Santa 
Claus was finally persuaded by the Spirit . of 
Christmas to shake hands with Teddy and re- 
call his stern sentence. Then came a ringing 
chorus of ‘‘Merry Christmas to All and Good 
Night.” Santa Claus flung down a pack of 
toys, called to his reindeer, and the whole pro- 
cession skipped through the yawning chimney. 
The stage was darkened for an instant. Sud- 
denly the lights flashed up, revealing the two 
boys sitting up, rubbing their eyes. Spring- 
ing to their feet they ran down to the front of 
the stage and sang the final number, a duet, 
“Santa’s the Friend of the Children.” 

Hardly had the curtain dropped when tu- 
multuous applause broke forth. Dicky and his 
brother were called again and again before the 
curtain. Mr. Marsh hurried down the aisle with 
two immense bouquets of red roses. This was 
Harry’s surprise. He had proposed to the 
messenger boys that they give ten cents apiece 
to buy these tributes of h6nor, and they had re- 
sponded to a boy. 

Half an hour^ later two happy-faced lads, 
their arms full of be-ribboned bundles, stepped 
into the snow-packed street. The bundles rep- 
resented the good will of the various members 


200 HARRY EAUBING-- MESSENGER **45^^ 


of their department. They meant that the tired 
salespeople who had stuck to their posts so 
faithfully through the bustle and hurry of 
Christmas had not been so tired as to forget 
that a merry, gift-laden Christmas is the most 
important thing in the world to a boy. In each 
lad’s pocket reposed a two dollar and a half 
gold piece, the gift of their respective buyers, 
and as Harry Harding and Teddy Burke 
trudged home through the sharp wintry air they 
both agreed that they were truly the luckiest 
boys under the sun. 

guess Santa Claus will be around to see 
you to-night,” was Teddy’s observation, called 
after Harry as they parted at the corner. 

shouldn’t be surprised if he called on you, 
too,” flung back Hary. 

Each boy smiled to himself as he sped home 
on his separate way, glowing with the unselfish 
ardor of giving. 

When Harry Harding opened his eyes the 
next morning on the light of a perfect Christ- 
mas day, the first thing that met his eager gaze 
was a thick, square, be-ribboned package. It 
lay on the little table beside his bed, and on the 
holly-wreathed tag tied to the ribbon was writ- 
ten in Teddy’s unmistakable handwriting, 
‘‘Merry Christmas from Teddy.” The pack- 
age contained a set of Kipling’s “Jungle 
Books,” for which Harry had often sighed. 
While at almost the same moment Teddy Burke 


TEDDY^S TRIUMPH 


201 


was lovingly caressing a beantiful dark bine 
sweater which Mrs. Harding’s patient fingers 
had knitted for her adopted son. And as each 
youngster admired and gloated over this new- 
est proof of the other’s regard it came to him 
that after all there was nothing in the world 
quite so satisfactory as having a real chum. 


CHAPTER XXI 


GETTING EVEN WITH THE GOBBUER 

T he few days that were left of the old year 
proved to be particularly busy ones for 
Harry Harding. The holiday rush for 
books had left the department in wholesale dis- 
order. The head salesperson of each particular 
stock of books clamored for the services of a 
stock boy to help bring order out of confusion, 
and Harry was hurried here and there at the 
command of many masters. Far from trying to 
dodge hard work, however, he plunged into it 
with an enthusiasm born of his love of books 
and his earnest desire to further Mr. Rexford’s 
cause in every possible way. 

In the matter of sales it had been a banner 
Christmas for Mr. Rexford’s department. The 
almost emptied stock-room testified to that fact, 
so did the many blank spaces on the tables, when 
once the jumbled stock of many-colored vol- 
umes had been put in place. All this, however, 
was not acconaplished in a day. It meant hard 
<and constant labor for the salespeople, and the 
202 


GETTING EVEN WITH THE GOBBLER 203 


New Year was at least a week old before De- 
partment 85 settled into something resembling 
its usnal placidity. 

During these busy days of putting things to 
rights in the book department, Harry and Teddy 
Burke seldom met in the lunch room, although 
they never failed to walk home together at 
night. School was not scheduled to begin again 
until the last Monday in January, after the an- 
nual stock-taking in the store was over. Ee- 
leased for the time being from study, both boys 
centered their interest on learning all they could 
about their respective departments. 

Harry longed to know more about books, be- 
cause of his predeliction for them, while Teddy 
burned to be a business man like Mr. Everett, 
whom he secretly worshipped. 

It was Teddy’s first case of hero worship, and 
he kept it strictly to himself. He managed, how- 
ever, when not busy, to keep within call of the 
buyer, or td flit about after him as he made his 
round of Department 40, looking for all the 
world like a mischievous sprite as he suddenly 
bobbed up from behind a table or appeared like 
magic from around a corner. Mr. Everett had 
grown to depend on his services to such an ex- 
tent that to see him suddenly stop in the mid- 
dle of the department and cast searching eyes 
over the rows of household utensils usually in- 
dicated that he was looking for Teddy. Already 
a curious sense of comraderie had sprung up 


204 HARRY HARDING -^MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


between the boy and man that later was to de- 
velop into an exceptional friendship. To the 
little, red-haired boy the once despised realm of 
kettles and pans seemed like a second home. 
There was bnt one drawback to the satisfaction 
he derived from his work in the house furnish- 
ings, and that drawback was — ^the Gobbler. She, 
alone, of all the salespersons in Department 40, 
disliked Teddy. Over and over again she had 
railed loudly against him, even going so far 
as to complain of him to Mr. Everett, and to 
ask that another boy be given his place in the 
department. In this instance she had gone a 
step too far, however. Wearied of her constant 
and prejudiced harping upon the subject of 
Teddy’s shortcomings, Mr. Everett had turned 
on her with a sudden burst of anger that left 
her gasping, and thereafter she had modified 
her spleen against Teddy to muttered grumb- 
ling, with an occasional loud-toned reprimand, 
whenever the object of her dislike gave her the 
slightest opportunity for complaint. 

To be sure, there was no great reason why 
Miss Newton should evince a fondness for 
Teddy Burke. He had never laid himself out 
to win her regard. Quick to note her hostile at- 
titude toward him, he had taken a wicked delight 
in pla 3 dng more than one mischievous prank 
upon her, which in time she had ferreted out 
and very correctly laid at his door. She had 
been the only person in Department 40 to re- 


GETTING EVEN WITH THE GOBBLER 205 


fuse to contribute toward the collection of 
Christmas gifts which the others had taken so 
much pains and pleasure in preparing for the 
boy. “What! Give that impudent youngster 
a present? Well, I guess not!’’ had been her 
indignant exclamation when Sam Hickson had 
put the project for making Teddy’s Christmas 
a merry one before her. “Catch me spending 
a cent on a boy who calls me names.” Unfor- 
tunately, it had been borne to her ears that 
Teddy had named her “The Gobbler.” 

In due season, Teddy had learned all this from 
Sam Hickson, and, although he received the 
news with a fine show of indifference, and de- 
clared loftily that the “old Gobbler could keep 
her old present for all he cared,” nevertheless 
it piqued him considerably more than he would 
let his friend Sam know, or would admit even to 
himself. He vowed secretly that he would “get 
even” with her, and planned untold mischievous 
vengeance to be wreaked upon her offending 
head. Yet deep in his heart it hurt him just 
a trifle to feel that there was one person in De- 
partment 40 who, to use his expression, “had 
no use for him. ” 

It now lacked but two days until stock taking, 
and Teddy had made himself exceptionally use- 
ful to Sam Hickson in straightening and count- 
ing innumerable granite-ware utensils which 
formed a large part of the red-haired salesman’s 
individual stock. As is usually the case in a 


206 HARRY HARDING ---MESSENGER *‘45^^ 


department store, the salespersons in the house 
furnishings had begun to take account of their 
wares before the day set for wholesale reckon- 
ing of left-over stock. ‘‘Nobody in their right 
mind ever leaves it till the last day,’^ Hickson 
had confided to Teddy. “I’d have to stay here 
all night if I didn’t start beforehand. You 
keep an eye on this stuff. Whenever you see 
these folks selling any of it, tell me. Then I 
can take it off my count.” 

As the others in the department were of pre- 
cisely the same mind, everyone watched his or 
her tables with an eagle eye. The Gobbler, who 
had dominion over a vast region of tinware, hov- 
ered about her tables, for all the world like the 
cross old fowl for which Teddy had named her, 
and gobbled loud directions to all comers who 
ventured into the sacred precincts of her do- 
main. 

It was on the day before stock-taking that 
Teddy, flitting impishly about the department, 
conceived the great scheme for “getting even.” 
From a safe distance he eyed his enemy, who 
was laboriously counting row upon row of shin- 
ing pie and cake tins, and moving each pile, 
as she counted it, to one side of the long table 
on which it reposed. Long before the hour when 
she departed for the lunch-room, neat stacks of 
tinware rose on one half of her table, while a 
space of about a foot in width separated the 
elect from the uncounted. 


GETTING EVEN WITH THE GOBBLER 207 


‘‘Just wait until she goes to lunch/ ^ reflected 
Teddy wickedly, as, safely screened by a pro- 
tecting wall of dishpans, he peered owlishly at 
the industrious Gobbler as she delved patiently 
in her stock. 

Miss Newton, however, was in no great hurry 
to go to lunch. Engrossed in her task the min- 
utes slipped by, and when at last she stalked ma- 
jestically otf in the direction of the time-desk, 
Teddy was called upon to go on an errand for 
Mr. Everett. 

The instant he was free, he hurried down the 
aisle toward the hapless table, vengeance in his 
eye. “Maybe she wonT be mad, though,’’ he 
chuckled, as he paused before the rows of tin- 
ware and eyed the dividing space which sepa- 
rated the figurative sheep from the goats. ‘ ‘ She 
won’t know what she’s counted and what she 
hasn’t, when I get through with ’em. She’ll 
think a customer did it. I’d just as soon tell 
her it was little Teddy that mixed ’em up, 
though.” 

His hand slid out toward a pile of cake tins. 
Dividing it evenly, he lifted the upper half and 
was about to distribute it in picturesque confus- 
ion over the table, when a sudden cry of distress 
broke upon his ears, causing him to let the pile 
of pans to rattle back into place. Bearing down 
upon him came Miss Newton, but her hard face 
wore a look of dismay which was quite new to 
it. 


208 HARRY HARDING ---MESSENGEB^^ 45^^ 


‘‘Oh, boy,^’ she shrieked, as she hurried to- 
ward him, “have you seen it? Help me look 
for it. Oh, I must find it!^^ She wrung her 
hands frantically, and to Teddy’s horror began 
to cry. 

“What’s the matter?” asked Teddy sharply. 
The woman’s evident distress had driven all 
thought of mischief from his mind. 

‘ ‘ Oh, oh ! ” she moaned. “ I ’ve lost my purse. 
It had all my salary in it. I just got paid this 
morning. I put it in my apron pocket. I ’m sure 
I did. But it ’s not there now. Oh, dear, what ’ll 
I do ? I haven’t paid my board, or my laundry, 
or anything!” 

She searched frantically among the rows of 
tinware, peered up and down the narrow aisles, 
then dropped her head in her hands and lurch- 
ing against the tinware table with a force that 
sent a pile of pie tins jingling to the floor, burst 
into noisy weeping. 

A thin little hand reached forth and patted 
the sobbing woman on the shoulder. “Never 
you mind, Miss Newton, I’ll find your money 
for you. How much did you lose, and where do 
you think you lost it ? ” Teddy was transformed 
into a small edition of a knight-errant about to 
go to the rescue of a lady in distress. “What 
kind of a purse was it?” 

‘ ‘ Ten dollars, ’ ’ gurgled the Gobbler. ‘ ‘ I don ’t 
know where I lost it. It was all I had. Oh-h-h ! 
It was a little, black pocketbook.” 


GETTING EVEN WITH THE GOBBLER 209 


‘‘Don’t you cry, now. I’ll find it,” promised 
Teddy hopefully. He began a rapid search 
among the piles of tinware. This time, how- 
ever, he was extremely careful not to disarrange 
them. Next he darted up and down the aisles, 
peering under the tables, his alert eyes scanning 
every inch of the floor, but to no purpose. 

“Maybe someone’s picked it up and taken it 
to the ‘Lost and Found,’ or to Mr. Duffield. 
You stay here. I ’ll go and see. ’ ’ 

Down the department hurried the little fig- 
ure, anxiously inquiring of the various sales- 
persons, “Have you seen Miss Newton’s 
purse?” But no one had seen it. A knot of 
sympathetic clerks gathered about him, asking 
eager questions and shaking their heads in de- 
nial. A hurried trip to the “Lost and Found” 
proved fruitless. Mr. Duffield disclaimed all 
knowledge of it. 

“I guess it’s gone for good,” remarked a 
woman. “Somebody’s always ready to snap 
up money and keep it. She might as well brace 
up and make the best of it. I know how it goes, 
though. I lost my salary once, and I never 
heard of it again.” 

“It was all the money she had,” Teddy found 
himself repeating mechanically. “I hate to go 
and tell her we can’t find it.” 

“I’ll tell her,” volunteered the woman. 
“Where is she?” 


210 HARRY HARDING MESSENGER ^'45*^ 


‘‘Down there in tin pans, crying her eyes 
out,’’ muttered Teddy. 

The woman started in the direction of Miss 
Newton. 

“Wait a minute. Inspiration had come to 
Teddy. His hand went into his trousers ’ pocket. 
Only that morning he had received his salary. 
“Here.’’ He fished up three new one-dollar 
bills. Separating one of them from its com- 
panions, he held it up. “I’m goin’ to give her 
this. How much are the rest of you goin’ to 
give ! ’ ’ 

“There’s a dollar for you, Reddy.” Sam 
Hickson laid the mate to Teddy’s dollar in the 
boy’s hand. 

“ I ’ll give you fifty cents. I know how it goes. 
I can’t spare any more.” This came from the 
woman who had volunteered to break the news. 

“I’ll give a dollar,” volunteered another 
salesman. 

“Here’s fifty cents more,” smiled a pretty 
girl, opening a tiny purse she had taken from 
her apron pocket. “Listen, Teddy, go ’round 
the department and ask everybody.” 

“Hold this.” Teddy thrust the money he 
had collected into Hickson’s hand and sped off 
on his errand of mercy. He was back within 
a few moments with the encouraging news, ‘ ‘ Got 
two dollars more.” 

“What ’s all this ? ’ ’ demanded a brusque voice. 
“How often have I said to you, ‘don’t stand in 


GETTING EVEN WITH THE GOBBLER 211 


groups*?’ ” Mr. Everett had appeared on the 
scene with a suddenness that startled the knot 
of workers gathered about Teddy. 

‘‘The Gob — Miss Newton’s lost her purse. 
She feels awful. We’ve got six dollars, and 
we’re goin’ to give it to her,” announced Teddy 
almost defiantly. He had flushed rosy red. 

Mr. Everett regarded the boy with a quizzi- 
cal smile. “How much did she lose?” he asked 
sharply. 

“Ten dollars, and she hasn’t paid her board, 
or her laundry, or anything. She ” 

The buyer’s hand traveled to his breast 
pocket. Taking out a seal wallet, he counted 
four crisp one-dollar bills. “There’s your ten 
dollars. Now, scatter, all of you. What would 
Mr. Martin say if he happened along?” Turn- 
ing abruptly, Mr. Everett walked away. 

“There’s a buyer for you!” glowed one of 
the men. 

“He’s a real man. Now, Teddy ” 

But Teddy was half way down the aisle. 

“Here’s your ten dollars. Miss Newton,” he 
cried jubilantly. “Hold your hands, and don’t 
dare lose it this time.” 

The disconsolate weeper straightened up with 
a jerk, and stared in tearful amazement at the 
boy who had so sturdily come to her aid. 

“Why — ^^vhere — did you get it? That’s not 
my money!” 

“Yes it is. Hurry up and take it,” retorted 


212 HARRY HARDING --- MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


Teddy impatiently. ‘‘It^s from the folks in 
the department. You’d better go and get your 
lunch now. I won’t let anybody touch your 
stock while you’re gone. Take it. I’ve got to 
go. Mr. Everett is yelling 65. ’ ’ 

Dumping the money on the table, Teddy was 
about to scuttle away, when two detaining arms 
reached out and seized him. ‘‘You’re the best 
boy that ever lived,” quavered the Gobbler. 
Then Teddy Burke turned redder than his ruddy 
hair, as his erstwhile enemy, the Gobbler, im- 
printed a resounding kiss on his freckled cheek. 

Wriggling from the grateful embrace, Teddy 
raced off up the aisle almost at a gallop, mut- 
tering, “She got even with me, all right!” 


CHAPTER XXII 


A DISTURBING CONVERSATION 

HO do you s^pose likes me?^^ asked 
W Teddy Burke that evening, as he and 
" ^ Harry began their homeward walk 
together. 

‘‘Quite a number of persons, I should say,^^ 
returned Harry, smiling. 

“But this is the last person you’d ever guess. 
It’s the Gobbler — I mean. Miss Newton. She 
said I was the best boy that ever lived. What 
do you think of that?” 

“I think you must be dreaming, or else Miss 
Newton isn’t in her right mind,” jeered Harry. 
More than once Teddy had recounted to his 
chum his frequent tilts with the saleswoman he 
had naughtily named the Gobbler. Harry knew, 
too, that she had ignored Teddy in the matter 
of a Christmas gift, and far from being sym- 
pathetic had slyly reminded his friend that he 
could not expect favors from one he had teased 
and ridiculed. 

“She’s not crazy, and I’m not dreaming,” re- 
213 


214 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER **45^’ 


torted Teddy. “I started to mix up her pie tins 
after she got ^em counted this morning, to get 
even with her for Christmas, and ’’ 

‘‘No wonder she likes you,’’ interrupted 
Harry. “Are you sure she said you were the 
hest boy that ever lived?” 

“Aw, quit teasing me,” grinned Teddy, “and 
listen to what I’m telling you. Where was I? 
Oh, yes. Just as I started on those tins she 
came yelling down the aisle like an Indian! 
She’d lost her pocketbook with her salary in 
it.” 

“What did you do then?” asked Harry, with 
a curious sidelong glance at his companion. 

“Oh, I had to drop the pans and help her 
hunt it. There wasn’t any fun in mixing ’em 
when she was crying like anything,” replied 
Teddy. “She didn’t find it, but the folks in the 
department all put together and made it up to 
her. She lost ten dollars. Mr. Everett made 
me give it to her. That’s when she said I was 
the best boy that ever lived. She — she — don’t 
you dare tell anybody,” Teddy stipulated 
threateningly, “but— she— she kissed me. Can 
you beat it?” His small face wore an expres- 
sion of supreme disgust. 

Harry shouted with laugher. “That’s a 
funny one on you, Ted.” Then, straightening 
his face, he asked with a suddenness that caught 
Teddy ohF his guard, “Who put in the first 
money for Miss Newton ? ” 


A DISTURBING CONVERSATION 215 


‘ ‘ I did, I — oh, what made yon go and ask that ? 
I wasn’t goin’ to tell yon.” Teddy looked 
abashed. 

‘‘I snspected she had a pretty strong reason 
for saying yon were snch a good boy. It was a 
kind thing to do, Teddy. I’m glad and prond 
yon ’re my chnm.” Harry’s earnest, admiring 
speech bronght a qnick flnsh to Teddy’s cheeks. 
‘‘Oh, forget it,” he mattered. “Say, did yon 
know that if we pass an examination in May 
we can’t go to day school next year?” 

“Yes, I heard that when first we came to the 
store. We will have to go to school on two even- 
ings dnring the week after the store closes. 
Bnt we are to have onr sappers. Martin Broth- 
ers do that for the boys, to help them along. 
It’s mighty fine in them, isn’t it?” 

“Yep,” agreed Teddy. “Oh, say, who do 
yon snppose is coming to see me to-morrow 
night?” 

‘ ‘ Frank Campbell ? ’ ’ gnessed Harry. He was 
the lad who had shared honors with Harry in 
the Christmas play. 

“Nope; Fatty — I mean, Howard Eandall. 
He’s coming home to sapper with me. Yon 
don’t care if he walks home with ns, do yon? 
Why can’t yon come to sapper, too ? ” 

“I don’t believe I will.” Harry shook his 
head. He wisely decided that it wonld be better 
for Teddy and Howard to spend the evening to- 
gether, withont the presence of a third party. 


216 HARRY HARDING ’-MESSENGER **45^' 


“What a splendid boy Teddy is,’^ was Har- 
ry’s reflection as he hurried on toward home 
after saying good night to his chum. ‘ ‘ The peo- 
ple in his department must like him. It’s great 
to be liked.” His face glowed with happiness. 
Since his advent into the book department he 
was tasting the joy of having his efforts to be 
of use to his buyer appreciated. He felt that 
there was nothing he would not do for Mr. Eex- 
ford to show his gratitude, and he longed for 
some fitting opportunity to demonstrate it. 

The winter days rolled swiftly on, however, 
bringing with them nothing more stirring than 
the chance for Harry to perform faithfully and 
painstakingly his daily duties. But these he 
executed with a thoroughness and good will that 
made him a general favorite in Department 85, 
and caused Mr. Kexford to congratulate him- 
self on having the boy in his department. 

February came in, stiff, cold and apparently 
implacable, only to thaw unexpectedly, hold out 
a deceitful promise of springlike warmth, then 
maliciously freeze again at the very moment 
when everyone was congratulating himself on 
the mildness of the winter. March came in blus- 
tering, buffeting the great city with hard, icy 
fingers, and roaring forth a challenge of un- 
ending winter. Later, however, he relented, 
grew sunny and smiling by day, and merely 
snappy and frosty by night, indulging only in an 


A DISTURBING CONVERSATION 217 


occasional blast of fnry by way of keeping up 
his lionlike reputation. 

To Teddy Burke and Harry Harding the win- 
ter fairly raced along the frozen road to spring. 
Work brought the lads a contentment they had 
never before experienced. Teddy’s efforts had 
been rewarded with another dollar a week, and 
an initiation into the mysteries of stock in the 
realm of kettles and pans. Determined to give 
the boy every chance, Mr. Everett made much 
of him, giving him simple but invaluable infor- 
mation in the business of careful buying and the 
care of stock. Teddy was laying the founda- 
tion for a useful future amid the pleasantest 
possible surroundings. 

Harry Harding was also making rapid strides 
along the line of his work. The only drawback 
to his satisfaction lay in the thought that he 
could not do more for the man who had done 
so much for him. Over and over again he said 
to Teddy, wish I could do something splen- 
did for Mr. Rexford and for Martin Brothers, 
too, just to show them that I appreciate work- 
ing for them. ’ ’ With this aim in mind he was 
continually on the alert for a chance to demon- 
strate his gratitude, and it was this spirit of 
watchfulness that finally placed in his path the 
opportunity to prove his earnest words. 

One morning, while busily engaged in un- 
loading a truck full of books, Harry overheard 
what struck him as a curious conversation. He 


218 HARRY HARDING ---MESSENGER *^45^^ 


had moved his truck alongside a long, project- 
ing ledge of book shelves under which stock was 
usually placed in open bins at unloading, then 
carried to the various tables where it belonged. 
Having emptied his truck, Harry ’had seated 
himself on the floor behind it and was straight- 
ening the rows of books he had placed in the 
bins. 

haf had my eye feexed on that set of Poe 
seence Christmas,’^ he heard a low, unfamiliar 
voice say. He felt a sudden jarring of the truck. 
Someone had leaned against it. The truck rolled 
an inch or two, and the speaker changed posi- 
tion, without turning about or noting the boy 
seated under the shelf. 

‘‘Wait until that girl in the desk goes to 
lunch,’’ came the cautious, whispered answer. 
“I can’t do a thing, with her there. If the in- 
spectress who relieves her is as stupid as the re- 
liefs Wallace has been sending down here 
lately, I can put it through all right. You’ll 
have to pay ten cents a volume, though.” 

“It weel not break me,” laughed the first 
speaker. “I weel return the favor whenever 
you say. Come to the department on your 
luncheon hour with your hat on and you shall 
haf the embroidered ” 

“Beat it,” hissed the other voice, “there 
comes ” 

There was a quick scurry of feet. Harry rose 
hastily from the bin where he had been crouch- 


A DISTURBING CONVERSATION 219 


ing, bumping his head smartly on the project- 
ing ledge as he straightened up. The impact 
made him see stars for an instant. He struggled 
to his feet, however, pushing the truck from 
him, and glanced quickly up and down the de- 
partment. But he was too late. Half a dozen 
salespersons stood about the floor, but there 
were no strange salesmen to be seen. The un- 
familiar voice belonged to no one in Department 
85, and the whispered voice he could not recog- 
nize. It might belong to anyone in the depart- 
ment. 

Then he remembered the words, ‘Hhat set of 
Poe.’’ He hurried to the section where the 
sets of expensive books were displayed and 
began an eager scanning of the titles. Here he 
met with defeat. There were at least a dozen 
sets of Poe, all in expensive bindings. 

‘^What are you looking for, boy?” A drawl- 
ing voice suddenly addressed him. The sales- 
man who had charge of the stock, a stout, brown- 
haired young man with rather sleepy-looking, 
blue eyes stood blinking at the boy. ‘‘You 
mustn’t finger those sets. Remember, they cost 
money.” 

“I wasn’t fingering them. I was just look- 
ing.” Inwardly, Harry was indignant. His 
quiet, respectful voice did not reveal this fact, 
however. Then he said innocently, although his 
blue eyes studied the salesman intently. “I 
suppose these sets of Poe are very expensive.” 


220 HARRY HARI)ING^3IES8ENGER ^^45^^ 


His remark drew no blood. The salesman 
merely grinned derisively at him and said, ‘‘I 
guess it would take more than your week’s 
wages to buy a set.” 

‘‘I guess it would.” Harry smiled and 
walked away. He had learned nothing. He had 
not even had time to count the sets, or fix their 
appearance in his mind. True, he had had an 
object in mentioning Poe to the man, but his 
ruse had failed. The man seemed not in the 
least perturbed. 

‘‘What had I better do?” was the uppermost 
question in Harry’s mind. “I hate to tell Mr. 
Rexford that there is a thief in this depart- 
ment, when I haven’t the least idea who it is. 
I’ll wait a little, then I’ll go back and count the 
sets when that fellow isn’t around. If one’s 
missing later, I ’ll know. But suppose somebody 
should sell one? I’d have to go around the de- 
partment and look on everyone’s book. I can’t 
do that. I ’ll keep my eyes open, though ; maybe 
I’ll find out something. I’ll look at those sets 
again, when I have a good chance.” 

But a little later Harry was ordered to the 
stock-room and spent not only the rest of that 
day there, arranging surplus stock, but the next 
three days, as well, and in the fulfilling of his 
duties, the disturbing conversation was, for the 
time being, forgotten. 

It was revived when, one day, a week later, 
he stopped at Exchange Desk number 10 for a 


A DISTURBING CONVERSATION 221 


moment conversation with his old friend. Miss 
Welch. 

‘‘Well, Kiddy, how’s hooks?” greeted the 
kind-hearted Irish girl. “Aren’t you the busy 
boy, though? Haven’t much time for your old 
friends, have you?” 

“I’ve been pretty busy,” admitted Harry, 
“but I’ve always time for you. Miss Welch.” 

“Hear him talk,” smiled the girl. “Don’t 
cry about it, youngster. I know you haven’t 
forgot your old friend Irish. I’ve been busy 
myself. Most of these people with the exchange 
habit ought to be in a sanitarium. Say, there ’s 
an old friend of yours over there in the jewelry. 
I wonder what’s up.” 

Harry’s eyes followed Miss Welch’s quick 
glance. Leaning against the counter, deep in 
conversation with Mr. Cohen, the buyer of the 
jewelry, stood Mr. Prescott, the head detective. 

An almost imperceptible shudder shook the 
lad ’s slender body. He would never forget Mr. 
Prescott. 

“I guess it’s about that stock they’ve been 
missing in jewelry,” speculated Miss Welch. 

“Have they been losing stock?” asked Harry. 

“Yes, but you just keep it under your hat. 
A lot of stuff has skidooed out of the depart- 
ment since Christmas. I’ve heard it’s not shop- 
lifters, either.” 

“Then it must be ” 

“Employees,” supplied Miss Welch. “A 


222 HARRY HARBING ’-‘MESSENGER **45^' 


friend of mine told me that it^s the same all 
over the store. I wouldn^t be surprised if there 
was a gang. She nodded wisely. 

‘‘A gang*?’^ questioned Harry. 

‘ ‘ Yes, a gang, Innocent. When I was inspect- 
ing in Harrington’s store the detectives got next 
to a gang of thieves there. It was sort of an 
endless chain; inspectors and sales were both 
mixed up in it. One person would steal one 
thing and another would steal something else; 
then they’d exchange. Sometimes they’d send 
their friends in to cart stuff out. Sometimes 
they’d buy things for almost nothing and the 
inspectors would pass it. They kept it up for 
two years and then ” 

‘‘Miss Welch,” Harry’s voice trembled with 
excitement, “I want to tell you something.” 
The boy recounted in a low voice the curious 
conversation he had overheard on the morning 
he had been seated in the bin. 

“Whada you think of that!” exclaimed the 
girl. ‘ ‘ My, but it would have been some feather 
in Kiddy’s cap if he’d got a look at those two. 
Better keep your eyes peeled. Mark my words, 
there ’ll be more of it in your department. Why 
didn’t you tell Mr. Eexford?” 

“I hated to, because I couldn’t prove a sin- 
gle thing. I was afraid I might make trouble 
for some innocent person,” returned Harry. 
“I thought maybe one of the men might be that 


A DISTURBING CONVERSATION 223 


Mr. Farley who has the sets, hut I was mis- 
taken.’’ 

‘‘Farley. U-nun. Let me see. That’s that 
fellow with the sleepy eyes. Looks like the real 
thing. Still, you never can tell. Sometimes 
these harmless-looking people are fakes. Why 
don’t you do a little Sherlocking on your own 
account?” 

“Sherlocking?” inquired Harry. 

“Yes. Didn’t you ever read about Sherlock 
Holmes? He was some detective. Put it all 
over Nick Carter and a few others. Go to it, 
Kiddy, and beat him.” 

“I will,” promised Harry. “Do you 
think ?” 

‘ ‘ Where ’s your check, madam ? ’ ’ Miss W elch 
had turned to a woman who had come up to the 
desk. 

Harry walked away, reviewing the conversa- 
tion he had overheard on that morning of over 
a week past. “I’ll watch,” he resolved, “and 
perhaps I’ll find out something. If only I 
could I’d be helping Mr. Eexford and Martin 
Brothers, too.” 


CHAPTER XXIII 

HAERY PAYS HIS DEBT 

H arry made good his promise. For 
once fate seemed with him. A huge job 
lot of books, which it had taken him 
three days to bring from the stock-room to the 
first floor, was to be placed on sale in the de-, 
partment and the handling of this stock kept 
him busy on the floor, where he conld see what 
went on. 

The day before the sale he was detailed to 
work after the store had closed. The majority 
of the men in 85 had also been detained for 
night work and among them was Mr. Farley, 
the sleepy-eyed salesman. 

A week had passed since Harry’s conversa- 
tion with Miss Welch. During that time the 
boy had watched Mr. Farley whenever he had 
the opportunity to do so, without being ob- 
served. His vigilance had met with no reward. 
To all intents the salesman appeared to be per- 
fectly open and above-board in his dealings. 

224 


HARRY PAYS HIS DEBT 


225 


Harry felt almost ashamed of himself for shad- 
owing a man of whom he had really no cause for 
suspicion other than the fact that he had charge 
of the sets and that Miss Welch had suggested 
that he might bear watching. Even though 
there were a chain of thieves among Martin 
Brothers’ employees, it might not extend to the 
book department. Still the conversation he had 
overheard pointed plainly to the dishonesty of 
someone in Department 85. 

Late that afternoon, however, Harry chanced 
to witness something which bore out Miss 
Welch ’s suggestion. The boy was hard at work, 
arranging a table of bargain books when the 
sound of voices in his ears caused him to glance 
up. Mr. Farley stood before a shelf of special 
books devoted to arts and crafts. It was situ- 
ated directly across the narrow aisle in which 
Harry was working. The man’s back was to- 
ward the boy. Beside him stood a pretty young 
woman. She was talking animatedly on the 
subject of interior decorating and examining 
with interest the various books the salesman 
showed her. 

‘‘How much is this book?” Harry heard her 
ask. 

“Five dollars,” was the salesman’s response. 

The young woman turned the leaves of the 
book as though undecided whether she wished 
to pay that price for it. The salesman watched 
her narrowly. 


226 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER *^45^' 


‘‘I’ll take it,” she said at last, “but need I 
have it wrapped? I wish to make a train and 
I can save time by tucking it in this bag.” She 
pointed to a leather traveling bag she had set 
down on the shelf. Fumbling in her hand-bag 
s^he took from it a five-dollar note and handed 
it to Mr. Farley. 

“That vdll be all right, madam,” Harry 
heard him say. He glanced cautiously up and 
down the aisle, still with his back toward Harry. 
The woman hastily opened her traveling bag, 
dropped the book into it and hurried out of the 
department. The man watched her out of sight, 
then he strolled ohP in the opposite direction 
without looking back, but as he went, Harry’s 
watchful eyes saw him thrust the hand that held 
the money into his trousers pocket. When he 
withdrew his hand it was empty. 

“He’s going to keep that money,” sprang to 
Harry’s mind, then, anxious to give the man the 
benefit of the doubt, “Perhaps he has put it in 
his pocket until he gets his sales book.” The 
boy strolled slowly behind the salesman, deter- 
mined to see what Mr. Farley intended to do 
with the money. It soon became evident that the 
man was not searching for his book on which to 
record the sale. He walked to the end of the 
aisle, then crossed over to the other side of the 
department. Harry dodged behind a high pile 
of large dictionaries that had been stacked at 
the end of the aisle. From this point of vantage 


HARRY PAYS HIS DEBT 


227 


he watched Mr. Farley for at least ten minutes. 
During that time the man made no effort to re- 
cord the sale. Instead, he approached one of 
the saleswomen and entered into a conversation 
with her. Spying a customer who was examin- 
ing a set of Thackeray, he made his way to his 
own stock, with Martin Brothers’ money still 
reposing in his trousers pocket. 

Here Harry’s watch ended. He could spend 
no further time shadomng the man. He went 
slowly back to the table on which he had been 
at work, hardly knowing what to do. He had 
seen Mr. Farley pocket the money, but how 
could he prove what he had seen, were he to ac- 
cuse the man openly? He had no way of finding 
out who the customer was, or where she lived. 
If Mr. Farley were confronted with Harry’s 
story he would no doubt deny the whole trans- 
action, or make some sort of clever explanation 
that would entirely discount Harry’s accusa- 
tion. 

‘H’ll tell Miss Welch,” decided the boy. He 
made his way to the exchange desk, but his 
friend was too busily engaged with a row of 
more or less patient women, afflicted with the 
exchange habit, for confidences. 

‘‘I’ll tell her as soon as she isn’t so busy,” 
he decided. Before that time arrived he was 
sent up to the stock-room for a small consign- 
ment of books for which a saleswoman had an 
order on the following morning. When he re- 


228 BARRY HARDING — MESSENGER ^^45^^ 


turned to the floor the second closing gong had 
rung and Miss Welch’s desk was deserted. 

“I suppose I’d better go and eat my sup- 
per.” Harry turned in disappointment from 
the exchange desk and went downstairs to the 
basement, pondering what he had best do. As 
is the custom in large department stores, the 
employees who work after the store’s regular 
hour for closing receive their supper at the 
management ’s expense. They are usually given 
from thirty to fifty cents and allowed time 
enough to go to an outside restaurant for their 
evening meal. Certain stores, however, make 
it a point to serve supper to their salespersons 
working overtime. Martin Brothers were 
among the latter, and served their night work- 
ers with a substantial meal in the basement res- 
taurant. 

Harry had just begun his supper when he 
saw Mr. Farley enter the restaurant in com- 
pany with a slender young man whose black 
eyes and hair, together with a small black mous- 
tache, gave him a decidedly foreign air. The 
two seated themselves at a table some distance 
from Harry, and with their heads close to- 
gether began what appeared to be an extremely 
confidential conversation. He noted that when 
the waiter came to take their order they 
stopped talking and waited until he was well 
out of hearing before resuming their confab. 

‘‘I wonder who that man is,” was Harry’s 


EAEEY PAYS HIS DEBT 


229 


thought. ‘‘I don’t believe I ever saw him be- 
fore.” As he sat watching the two salesmen, 
Fred Alden, the other stock boy for Depart- 
ment 85, slid into the chair opposite Harry. 

‘‘Any objections to the pleasure of my com- 
pany for supper?” he grinned cheerfully. He 
was a tow-headed, homely youth, older by two 
years than Harry, and his unfailing good 
humor was proverbial in the department. 

“I’m glad to have you. I hate to eat alone. 
I’d have waited for you to go to supper, but 
I wished to see Miss Welch. She’d gone home, 
though, so I came on down stairs,” explained 
Harry. Seized with a sudden idea he asked 
carelessly, “Who is that man with Mr. Far- 
ley? They’re over there.” Harry indicated 
them with a nod of his head. 

“Who’s he? Oh, he’s a salesman in the up- 
holstery. He’s a Frenchman, and thinks he’s 
a whole lot. He talks like an American, though. 
Sometimes when he gets mad or excited you can 
teU he’s a foreigner. The messenger kids used 
to tease him to see him get wrathy. He’s got 
an awful temper.” 

Harry’s heart gave a sudden leap. The un- 
familiar voice he had heard that morning of 
some weeks past had held a curious note which 
he knew to be out of the ordinary, yet was at 
a loss to guess why. Now it was all clear. The 
peculiarly accented words were the speech of 
an alien. At last he was o-n the trail of at least 


230 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER *‘45^^ 


two thieves. Whether that trail led out of the 
book department and through the store, he 
could not know. He only knew that Miss 
Welch’s random suspicion had hit the mark. 

During the remainder of the meal he let 
Fred carry on the greater part of the conversa- 
tion, a proceeding which exactly suited the other 
boy, who was a chronic talker. Harry’s 
thoughts were busy with his discovery. He 
could not be sure of his man until he heard 
the dark young man speak. But while he pond- 
ered as to his next move he saw Mr. Farley and 
his companion rise from the table. Harry 
sprang to his feet, leaving his dessert half 
eaten. ‘H’m sorry I can’t wait for you, Fred,” 
he apologized, ‘‘but I — I — ^must go.” With- 
out further words he hastened toward the 
stairs. 

The two men were half way up the stairs 
when Harry set foot on the first step. Up he 
sped, so quietly that they did not hear him. At 
least, they did not turn around. He was only 
three steps behind them as they reached the 
first floor. To his intense chagrin they stopped 
short at the head of the stairs. There was 
nothing left for Harry to do but pass them. 
Mr. Farley cast a sleepy glance at the boy, 
but did not speak. He invariably treated the 
lad as though he were a part of the department 
furnishings. The sleiider, dark man paid no 
attention to him whatever. 


HARRY PAYS HIS DEBT 


231 


‘‘How can I hear his voice if I can’t get near 
enough to him to hear it?” was Harry’s dis- 
gusted reflection. “I’ve got to hear it, but how 
can I manage to?” 

From behind a concealing screen of books 
some distance from the stairway, Harry peered 
at the two men. Acting on a flash of impulse, 
he suddenly walked boldly toward them. He 
had happened to recall that there was to be 
a sale of sets, too, along with the miscellaneous 
books. 

‘ ‘ Do you want me to help you with your sets, 
Mr. Farley?” At the sound of the boyish voice 
the men at the stairway whirled about. They 
had turned their backs to the book department 
and had not heard his almost noiseless ap- 
proach. 

“When I do. I’ll let you know,” frowned Mr. 
Farley. His sleepy eyes awoke and gleamed 
angrily at the interruption. The Frenchman 
glowered reprovingly at the lad. “Go away, 
boy,” he rebuked. “Why haf you interropted 
os?” 

“I beg your pardon.” There was a mocking 
inflection in Harry’s tone. Then he obediently 
removed his undesired presence to the other 
end of the department. He was quite ready to 
go for he had attained his object. The dark 
man had spoken, and in the voice was the in- 
flection he had reason to remember. 

“It’s the same voice,” he breathed half 


232 HARRY HARDING — MESSENGER **45^^ 


aloud. ‘‘Now that I know, I suppose I^d better 
tell Mr. Eexford about it, and let him see 
to it. He’ll believe me, but if I told somebody 
else he might not. Well, I’ve found out what 
I wanted to, so now I’ll get to work as fast as 
I can. It’s after six and I have to be out of 
here by eight o’clock.” 

“Here, Harry,” directed a pleasant voice. 
“I need you.” It was Mr. Henby, the man who 
had charge of the new fiction, who called out. 
“This table is to be cleared and those books put 
on it.” 

“All right, sir.” Harry attacked the job 
with vigor. 

It was twenty minutes past seven when that 
task was finished. Harry stood eyeing his 
grimy hands. “I guess I’d better wash my 
hands,” he decided. The water faucet was sit- 
uated in a small room devoted to the book mail- 
orders, at one side of the department, and 
opened into it by two doors. There was no 
light and as Harry did not know the situation 
of the switch he felt his way to the faucet in 
the dark. 

He had washed his hands, dried them on his 
handkerchief, and was about to pass out 
through the upper door when he heard subdued 
voices. Two men entered by the lower door 
and began to converse in low tones. 

“You go and get it,” drawled a familiar 
voice. “Here’s the set, all wrapped. Keep to 


HARRY PAYS HIS DEBT 


233 


the lower end of the department. Ill wait here 
until you bring my stuff. Make it flat, so I can 
button it inside my coat. You’d better take the 
books out one at a time. That’s a peach of a 
set. It ’s full morocco. If Eexf ord ever misses 
it there’ll be some yelling.” 

A dark, indistinct figure slipped from the 
lower door, another dimly outlined figure drew 
close to the side of a high desk out of sight of 
any chance intruder, while a third boyish figure 
sped across the department in search of Mr. 
Eexford, who had announced his intention of 
returning that evening to direct the prepara- 
tion for the sale. 

‘‘Have you seen Mr. Eexford, Fred?” Har- 
ry’s eyes blazed with excitement, as he paused 
for an instant to question the other stock boy 
whom he met coming toward him, his arms full 
of books. 

“Nope,” was the answer. “I don’t b’lieve 
he’ll show up. He hardly ever comes around 
when the fellows are workin’ at night.” 

“But he said he’d be here.” Harry’s face 
was full of anxious concern. 

“Well, mebbe he will, then. Don’t cry about 
it,” jeered Fred. 

Harry did not answer this jibe. He merely 
smiled and set off in the direction of the buy- 
er’s office. The door stood half open, but the 
office was dark, except for the faint light which 
shone into it from the department. “He isn’t 


234 HAREY HARDING ^MESSENGER ‘^45^^ 


there/ ^ muttered the boy. have to tell 

someone else.^’ He realized that if he did not 
act quickly the two men would have exchanged 
packages and gone. To prove their guilt it 
was necessary to surprise them in the mail- 
order room. 

Harry darted from the buyer’s office and col- 
lided violently with a man who had stepped 
into his path from between two tables. 

‘ ‘ I beg your pardon, ’ ’ he began, ‘ ‘ I didn ’t 

Oh, Mr. Rexford, I was looking for you.” The 
man with whom he had collided was the man 
he sought. ‘‘Please come quickly, or it will be 
too late. Two men are trying to steal some 
books. They’re in the mail-order room. That 
is, they were there, if they haven’t got away. 
We must slip in at the upper door without mak- 
ing any noise.” 

Mr. Rexford followed Harry without ques- 
tion. To the boy it seemed an hour since he 
had stolen from the mail-order room on his anx- 
ious quest for the buyer. In reality not more 
than four minutes had passed. “I’ll stay 
back,” he whispered as they neared the door. 
“You go in.” 

Just inside the upper door stood a tall filing 
cabinet. It effectually screened Mr. Rexford ’s 
noiseless entrance into the room. By crouch- 
ing to one side of it he could lean forward and 
thus view all that went on, the darkness of the 
room protecting him from observation. Out- 


BARRY PAYS HIS DEBT 


235 


side the doorway Harry waited in an agony of 
suspense. Ho sound came from within the 
room. He wondered if the Frenchman had re- 
turned while he was hunting Mr. Eexford, if 
the quick exchange of packages had already 
been made and the two thieves had stolen away. 

Mr. Eexford, however, had herad someone 
moving in the vicinity of the desk. He knew, if 
Harry did not, that one of the men was still 
there. Who they were he could not guess. The 
sight of Harry ^s troubled face as he cried out 
to him to come quickly was sufficient to con- 
vince him of the seriousness of the situation. 

It was not long before the watcher heard a 
stealthy footfall. Someone had entered through 
the lower doorway. A dark figure left the pro- 
tection of the desk. thought you^d changed 
your mind about coming back,’^ drawled a low 
voice. 

Mr. Eexford started in astonishment. 

‘‘It is not long — ten minutes, perhaps,^’ re- 
buked the newcomer. “Here is the portiere. 
The package is small. You can 

The room was suddenly flooded with a pene- 
trating light, revealing the Frenchman in the 
act of holding out a package to the sleepy-eyed 
salesman, Mr. Farley. 

“What does this mean, Farley?’’ Mr. Eex- 
ford confronted the astonished pair. The man 
Farley turned deathly pale. The package 
dropped from his hand. The Frenchman 


236 HAEEY HARDING -^MESSENGER **45^^ 


evaded Mr. Rexford and leaped for the door. 
The next second there was a rumble, followed 
by a loud crash. The man had stumbled over 
an empty truck, sending it rumbling against a 
book table, while he sprawled headlong to the 
floor. 

The noise, coupled with the man’s fall, 
brought several workers to the scene. The 
Frenchman scrambled to his feet and was 
about to slink otf when Mr. Rexford’s authori- 
tative voice called out from the mail-order door, 
‘‘Don’t let that man get away. I want him. 
Take him to my office and keep him there until 
I come.” 

Two of the salesmen hustled the man uncere- 
moniously toward the buyer’s office. Mr. Rex- 
ford retired into the mail-order room, only 
to appear almost instantly with Farley. The 
salesman’s face was ghastly, his usually sleepy 
eyes were dark with fear. He walked quietly 
beside the buyer, however, making no effort to 
flee. 

Mr. Rexford stopped and said something in 
a low tone to Mr. Denby, the man who had 
charge of the fiction. The salesman hurried 
out of the department, while the buyer motioned 
Farley into his office, stepped in after him and 
closed the door. 

A little group of workers gathered at one side 
of the department to discuss the meaning of 
the scene they had just witnessed. 


HARRY RAYS HIS DEBT 


237 


‘‘I suppose theyVe been stealing. Looks 
like it, ’ ^ advanced one young man. ‘ ‘ Who that 
dark fellow? I Ve seen him around the depart- 
ment talking to Farley. He^s the last person 
I’d accuse of stealing. He’s been here for ten 
years.” 

‘Ht’s cribbing, all right enough. Here comes 
Prescott, the head detective,” murmured one 
of the men who had escorted the Frenchman 
into the office. ‘‘I wonder who spotted the 
game?” 

Harry Harding might have given that infor- 
mation, but, instead, he stood in silence, listen- 
ing to the talk that went on among the men. 
Glancing at the clock he saw that it was five 
minutes to eight. The law forbade any boy of 
his age to work after that hour. He was glad 
of it. He would go at once. He feared he might 
be called behind that closed door to testify 
against the offenders, and he shrank from do- 
ing so. He was not really needed. Mr. Eex- 
ford had caught the men in the act of exchang- 
ing stolen goods. Now the detective could do 
the rest. Harry lost no time in turning his 
night pass over to the man on the door and 
leaving the store behind him. 

He had been gone perhaps fifteen minutes 
when Mr. Eexford emerged from the office and 
asked for him. 

‘‘He went home on the dot of eight,” re- 
ported Mr. Denby, the fiction salesman. “You 


238 HARRY EARBING ’■^MESSENGER ‘*45^^ 


know these boys have to keep within the labor 
law.’’ 

Mr. Rexford smiled. ‘‘That boy has done a 
good deal more to-night than keep within the 
labor law. He’s been of untold service to Mar- 
tin Brothers and to me. He has rounded up 
the ringleaders of a gang of thieving employ- 
ees that have been profiting at the store’s ex- 
pense for a long time. What I’d like to know 
is where he got his first duel” 


CHAPTER XXIV 


WHITING THE WELCOME ADDRESS 

T he next morning, however, Harry could 
not escape testifying against the two 
men. Once more he found himself in Mr. 
Prescott ^s office, and although he entered it re- 
luctantly, it was only because of the pity he felt 
for the men who had by their own wrong doing 
placed themselves in the toils of the law. To 
his relief he found no one save Mr. Rexford 
and Mr. Prescott in the office. To them he re- 
lated everything that bore on the case, from 
the first conversation he had overheard while 
seated in the bin, to the moment when he had 
discovered the men in the mail-order room and 
gone for Mr. Rexford. 

^‘You’re a smart boy,’’ commented the de- 
tective when he had finished. 

don’t believe I’d ever have kept on watch- 
ing Mr. Farley, if it hadn’t been for Miss 
Welch,” confessed Harry. hated to do it.” 

‘‘Is that the girl who jumped all over me the 
day Seymour sent you up here?” asked the de- 

239 


240 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER *^45^^ 


tective. ‘‘I wish the store had a lot more girls 
like her/^ 

“Yes, sir, that was Miss Welch. Harry 
treasured the compliment to repeat to his 
friend. Then he added rather timidly, “Will 
Mr. Farley and the other man have to go to 
prison? It’s too had. I’m sorry they weren’t 
honest.” 

“I guess they’re sorry, too,” returned Mr. 
Prescott grimly. “I can’t say what’ll be done 
with ’em. It’ll take a week to get all the facts. 
Did you know that they belonged to a gang of 
thieves, all employees here? You did a good 
job, boy.” 

“I — ^wish — I hadn’t — ^I didn’t like to do 
it,” faltered Harry, “but when I came here to 
work I promised on my application blank that 
I’d report anyone I saw working against the 
store’s interest.” 

“No true man likes to bring even deserved 
misfortune on others, Harry,” broke in Mr. 
Eexford kindly. “We understand how you 
feel about it.” 

“Will I have to — to ” Harry stopped. 

“Appear against them?” interrupted the de- 
tective. “No ; Farley has confessed everything. 
You’re out of it from now on. ” 

After a little further conversation, Mr. Rex- 
ford and Harry left the detective’s office and 
returned to the book department. During the 
morning Harry was assailed with curious ques- 


WRITING THE WELCOME ADDRESS 241 


tions concerning the affair, but he only shook 
his head and replied, ‘‘I can’t tell you. Please 
don’t ask me.” 

The news had traveled rapidly throughout 
the store, however, as at least thirty salesper- 
sons in the various departments were impli- 
cated in the thieving. Even Teddy, in his dis- 
tant realm of kettles and pans, heard the tale 
and besieged Harry with countless questions 
when they met at the end of the day. But Harry 
told him nothing beyond the barest details, and 
at home he was absolutely silent on the subject. 
He was greatly relieved when at the end of the 
week he learned from Mr. Rexford that the 
offenders had escaped prison. They were each 
compelled to pay a sum to the store, set by the 
management, then discharged. Martin Broth- 
ers were not vindictive. They did not care to 
prosecute. 

After this unpleasant experience followed a 
delightful monotony for Harry, in which he did 
his work faithfully, went to school, read the 
books Mr. Rexford frequently lent him and 
considered himself the luckiest boy alive. The 
friendship between him and Teddy had daily 
grown and deepened, and the acquaintance be- 
tween the boys’ mothers bade fair to become 
intimacy. Harry spent frequent evenings at 
Teddy’s home, and Teddy was a welcome visi- 
tor in the Harding’s humble rooms. 

But while these* pleasant friendships pro- 


242 E AERY EAEBING'- MESSENGER ^^45’^ 


gressed, the year progressed also, and before 
the lads realized the change, winter had given 
an early place to spring and May arrived in 
all her flower-decked glory. 

‘‘Walking’s good these days,” remarked 
Teddy as he and Harry strolled leisurely home 
one night through the warm spring sunshine. 
“Summer’s coming pretty fast. I’m glad, but 
I’m sorry.” 

“What!” exclaimed Harry, “aren’t you glad 
that vacation time is coming, and school will 
soon close?” he added slyly. 

Teddy’s freckled face grew red. Then he 
laughed. “You said that on purpose,” he ac- 
cused. “Yon know I hate to leave Miss Leon- 
ard.” 

“So do I,” sighed Harry. “Still, if we don’t 
pass our examinations we won’t have to leave 
her.” 

“I guess I’ll fail,” grinned Teddy. “Maybe 
I will, anyhow. I know I won’t pass in English. 
I never can remember how to parse and a lot 
of other things. I know more’n Howard Ran- 
dall does about grammar, though. Wliat do you 
s’pose he went and wrote the other day?” 

“I don’t know. Tell me.” Harry’s eyes 
danced. Howard Randall’s lapses in English 
were the joke of Company A. 

“You faow that ten-question test we had last 
week,” related Teddy. “Well, Howard couldn’t 
answer a single question. Grammar won’t stay 


WRITING THE WELCOME ADDRESS 243 


in his head, somehow. He didn^t want to leave 
his paper blank so he thought he^d try to an- 
swer one. He answered that one, ‘What is 
meant by the first, second and third persons?’ 
He, he ! This is what he wrote, ‘ The first per- 
son was Adam, the second person was Eve and 
the third was the children.’ Some answer, 
wasn’t it?” Teddy ended with a giggle. 

Harry shouted with laughter at the fat boy’s 
strenuous attempt to prove that he knew some- 
thing about English. 

“When are you going to take your vacation, 
Harry?” asked Teddy, as they halted at the 
corner where they separated. 

‘ ‘ The first week in July, I think. I’m not go- 
ing away anywhere. I can’t afford it. You 
know we won’t be paid for our vacation week, 
don’t you?” 

“Yes. The fellows say you have to be in the 
store a year before you can draw* vacation 
money. That don’t hurt me any, though. My 
Mother says I must take two weeks off. I’m 
going the first of July, too. She wants me to 
take a month, but I’m not going to do it. I’m 
afraid I might lose my job. Some of the boys 
of the West Park School are teasing me to go 
camping with ’em, but I haven’t made up my 
mind about it. I thought I’d see first if you’d 
go along.” Teddy eyed his chum wistfully. 
“The feUows would like you, and I’d be tickled 
to have you.” 


244 HARRY HARDING ^MESSENGER ^*45^^ 


‘^You’re a loyal chum, Teddy/’ Harry was 
deeply touched hy the red-haired boy’s thought 
of him. ' ‘H’d like to go, but I can’t afford to 
spend a cent on a vacation trip. If I could I’d 
make Mother go away for a week. She needs a 
rest more than I do.” 

Teddy was silent in the face of this argument. 

‘H’m going to read and help Mother,” con- 
tinued Harry cheerfully. ‘H’m not going to 
let myself even think that I’d have a better time 
camping or in the country, or at the seashore. 
Next year, if I live, and all goes well. Mother 
and I will both go on a vacation trip. I’m go- 
ing to save every penny I can, just for that.” 

Nevertheless, as the spring days lengthened 
and the weather went from warm to hot, Harry 
could not repress an occasional wistful long- 
ing that he had money enough to send his 
mother away to the country for a week, while 
the merciless heat of summer rioted in all its 
scorching fury. For himself the boy had no 
thought. The dull season for the book depart- 
ment had begun. During the summer his work 
would be comparatively light. There would be 
no school. Only one more week of study re- 
mained, then a week of examinations. If he 
passed, it meant night school for him the next 
fall. He was glad to think of advancing in his 
studies, yet sorry to leave Miss Leonard. Since 
his transferrence from the exchange desk to the 
book department his report card had remained 


WRITING THE WELCOME ADDRESS 245 


clean. Miss Leonard and he were now on the 
best of terms. It would be hard to say good- 
bye to her. 

This depressing thought made the boy^s face 
unduly solemn as he sat watching his teacher on 
the last Monday morning of the regular study 
session. She had just called the roll, but in- 
stead of proceeding with the regular pro- 
gramme of school she rose and stepped down to 
the front row of seats with, ‘‘I have something 
to say to you this morning, boys, which I be- 
lieve will interest all of you. Mr. Edwin Mar- 
tin has offered a prize of twenty dollars in gold 
to the boy who can write the best welcome ad- 
dress. This address is to be learned and de- 
livered by the boy who wins the prize on the 
night of the store messengers’ commencement 
exercises, to be given in Martin Hall. Your ad- 
dress must not contain more than two hundred 
words. It must be neatly written on one side 
of the paper only, with your name in the upper 
left-hand corner of the first page. It must be 
handed to me one week from to-day. Mr. 
Keene, Mr. Marsh and Miss Pierce are to be 
the judges. Every boy on the store messenger 
force must write an address. Although only 
one boy can win the prize, remember, that if 
you do your very best, you may be that boy.” 

Miss Leonard’s announcement met with a 
buzz of interest among the boys of Company A. 
To many of them twenty dollars in gold seemed 


246 BARRY BARBING ^MESSENGER ^*45^* 


limitless wealth. More than one pair of boy- 
ish eyes brightened at the prospect just opened 
to them, and the majority of them made secret 
resolve to try their hardest to win the golden 
prize. 

‘‘I’m not goin’ to try for that old prize,” 
Teddy confided to Harry as they walked down- 
stairs together after school was over that morn- 
ing. “I’m goin’ to sing a solo at the exercises 
and be in a duet and a quartette. I’ve got to 
learn my songs. Let somebody else win the 
money. Course, I’d get it, you know, if I tried 
for it,” he declared waggishly. Then he added 
in a flash of inspiration, “You’re the boy who 
can win it, Harry. You write the best compo- 
sitions in Company A Class. Miss Leonard’s 
always reading ’em out to us and saying how 
good they are.” 

“A welcome address is a good deal harder 
to write than a composition,” demurred Harry. 
“I’m going to try to do my best to write a good 
one, but not because of the money. I don’t ex- 
pect to win that.” 

“Yes, but if you could win the twenty dol-, 
lars you could take your mother away for a 
vacation,” reminded Teddy. 

Harry felt himself grow hot and cold at these 
significant words. A wave of determination 
swept over him to put forth the highest ef- 
fort that lay within him for his mother’s sake. 
Teddy’s reminder had acted as a fresh spur to 


WRITING THE WELCOME ADDRESS 247 


his ambition to write his best. He had, indeed, 
an object in winning the gold piece. 

That night after supper he sat at the little 
center table, pencil in hand, a pad of paper be- 
fore him, but try as he might he could not com- 
pose a line that seemed in keeping with his idea 
of what a welcome address should be. 

‘‘What are you writing, Harry?’’ his mother 
asked curiously, as the boy wrote and erased, 
stripping off one sheet of paper after another 
from the pad, only to tear it to bits. 

“I’m writing — a — ^well — ^it’s a kind of com- 
position.” Harry had decided not to tell his 
mother of the prize competition until it was 
over. If he won, it would be a glorious sur- 
prise. If he did not, then she would never know, 
and thus escape being disappointed because the 
prize had not been awarded her son. 

Harry went to bed that night in a rather dis- 
heartened frame of mind. He had not written 
a single line which he considered worthy. A 
constant reader of good books, he had decided 
ideas as to literary style, and was fairly com- 
petent to judge his own work. The next night 
he attacked his task with renewed resolve, but 
the words of inspiration would not come. 

“I don’t believe I can write anything good 
enough for an every-day composition, let alone a 
welcome address,” he confided to Teddy after 
four evenings of hard, but futile effort at com- 
posing an address worth while. 


248 EAREY HARBING — MESSENGER *‘45^* 


‘‘Miners written and handed in/^ grinned 
Teddy. ‘‘I wrote seven lines, so 1^11 sure get 
the prize. I conldn’t think of anything more. 
It^s seven lines too much, anyhow.^’ 

Harry ^s sober face relaxed into a faint smile. 
He had a very fair idea of Teddy ^s welcome ad- 
dress. 

‘H^m going to keep on trying,’^ he declared, 
his pleasant face setting in lines of dogged de- 
termination. 

‘‘To-day’s Friday. YonVe only Saturday 
and Sunday,” was Teddy’s well-meant re- 
minder. 

That evening Harry went to his task divided 
between the desire to write a fitting address and 
the despair of ever doing so. He read over the 
one he had written the night before, then, with 
an impatient exclamation tore it to bits. It 
was dull. It lacked force and sincerity. He 
longed to put into it his gratitude toward the 
man who had given so many boys not only work 
but the splendid chance to gain an education 
as well. If only he could set down that grati- 
tude in smooth, elegant language! 

He stared frowningly at the paper before 
him. All at once an idea occurred to him. Why 
not write all that he felt in every-day fashion? 
Then, perhaps, he could revise it and improve 
upon it. Seizing his pencil he began to write 
just what he would have liked to say to Mr. 
Martin had the opportunity come for him to tell 


WRITING THE WELCOME ADDRESS 249 


this great man how much his goodness had 
meant to one boy. He wrote on and on, filling 
one sheet of paper, then another and still an- 
other. 

Finally, he laid down his pencil and began 
to read what he had written. It seemed very 
crude and boyish to him, but it had come 
straight from his heart. Whether he won the 
money or not he could write nothing else. He 
had said his say. All that remained to be done 
was to copy his address and write his name 
upon it. He had done his best. 


CHAPTER XXV 


COMMENCEMENT 

A t precisely eight o’clock on a warm June 
evening a long line of boys walked se- 
dately into Martin Hall and marching 
to the front to the inspiring strains of ‘‘The 
Stars and Stripes Forever,” played by the 
store orchestra, filed into the rows of seats rib- 
boned off in white which had been reserved for 
them. There was a buzz of expectation from 
an audience which packed the hall. A bell tink- 
led. Then the great curtain rose, disclosing a 
palm-decorated stage. There was a sudden 
hush. Then a slender, blue-eyed lad walked se- 
renely out on the stage, as though utterly un- 
conscious of the sea of upturned faces directed 
toward him. The boy was Harry Harding. He 
had come before this large and interested as- 
semblage to deliver the welcome address. 

“Dear friends,” he began in a clear, earnest 
voice that carried to every part of the crowded 
room, “we are here to-night to do honor to the 
man who has proved, and is proving every day, 

250 


COMMENCEMENT 


251 


his interest in the welfare of the messenger hoys 
of Martin Brothers^ store. To Mr. Edward 
Martin we owe onr lasting thanks in that he 
has given us not only a chance to become useful 
business men, but to attain an education as 
well. Many of us have been obliged to leave the 
public schools in order to help those at home 
who need our assistance. It is a wonderful thing 
for us to be able to go on with our school work 
and earn money as well. We are glad to wel- 
come you here to-night because we wish you to 
know that we appreciate the splendid oppor- 
tunities that have been given us. We have 
tried earnestly to make the most of our good 
fortune and we shall continue to try to prove 
ourselves worthy in every respect of our privi- 
leges. We are young, and we must pass through 
many trials and experiences before we become 
men. But surely, with the help and guidance 
of those whose effort is given to directing and 
moulding of our character, we must finally be- 
come useful, thoughtful men, striving only to 
reach the highest and hold it fast. 

‘‘In the name of Martin Brothers and the 
hoys of their store messenger service, we ex- 
tend you our heartiest welcome and thank you 
for your attendance tonight.’’ 

Ungrudging applause burst forth as Harry 
Harding bowed. As he was about to leave the 
stage the leader of the orchestra reached up 
and handed him an immense bouquet of pink 


252 HARRY HARDING MESSENGER **45^* 


roses. This time Teddy had taken up a col- 
lection, and honors were even. 

There was more applause, and Harry re- 
tired, considerably more confused than when 
he had stepped forth to make his speech, while 
a brown-haired, happy-faced woman in the 
audience wiped tears of sheer joy from her lov- 
ing eyes at the triumph of her boy. 

The exercises proceeded with a smoothness 
that was a supreme satisfaction to Mr. Keene, 
Mr. Marsh, Miss Verne and all those who had 
helped make the occasion one long to be re- 
membered by those present. The graduates 
were at last called to the stage and presented 
one by one with the diplomas that marked the 
end of their course in the day school. To all 
of them it meant an increase of salary, promo- 
tion in the store, and night school during the 
coming year. 

At last it was over and the audience had dis- 
persed in leisurely fashion. Two radiant-faced 
hoys made their way to where two proud moth- 
ers awaited them. Teddy’s mother had equal 
reason to be proud of her son, whose sweet voice 
had added much to make the entertainment 
memorable. 

‘‘Here, Mother, you must carry my roses, 
laughed Harry, handing the huge bouquet of 
fragrant flowers into his mother’s keeping. 

“Oh, Harry, dear. Mother is so proud of her 
boy,” the little woman whispered as they 


COMMENCEMENT 


253 


walked arm in arm to the street corner to wait 
for their car. Teddy and his mother were just 
behind them. 

‘‘I guess we wonT walk home to-night, 
Harry, ’ ’ grinned the irrepressible Teddy. ‘ ‘ We 
deserve to ride home for once. We’re some 
folks. My, but I’m glad you won the prize. I 
felt the shivers go up and down my back when 
you made the address. It was a welcome one, 
all right.” 

‘Ht wasn’t half so welcome as the money. 
Isn’t it splendid, Ted, to think that we are all 
going on that vacation together?” 

The Burkes and the Hardings had arranged 
to rent a bungalow in the suburbs for two 
weeks. By joining forces Harry’s twenty dol- 
lars would be sufficient to pay his and his moth- 
er’s share of the expenses. The boys’ vacation 
was to begin the following week. As the store 
wais to be closed on Saturday they would not 
return to work until after their vacation. 

“I can never be thankful enough that we went 
together to Martin Brothers that day to look 
for work,” returned Harry; his eyes were 
bright with the memory of that never-to-be-for- 
gotten morning when he and Teddy Burke 
had joined forces. 

‘‘You can’t be any gladder than I am,” was 
Teddy’s serious answer. “It looks as though 
you and I were going to be business men for 
sure, doesn’t itV^ 


254 UAEUY EAEBlNG'---MESSENGEn‘^45** 


^‘We’ll get there after a while, I hope. It 
won’t be long until we’re salesmen.” 

‘‘And after that we’ll be buyers,” declared 
Teddy eagerly. “Perhaps we’ll own a store 
like Martin Brothers’ some day, Harry.” 

“Perhaps we will. At least, we’ve started 
on the long road to business and success, and 
it rests with us to keep in the middle of it. 
There’s a lot of hard work ahead of us.” 

“I’m not afraid of hard work,” boasted 
Teddy. “Just watch me wade into it when I 
come back from my vacation.” 

“I won’t have time,” retorted Harry, laugh- 
ing. “I’ll be too busy myself.” 

“My boy, I was very proud of you tonight!” 
a deep voice sounded at Harry’s elbow, causing 
him to turn quickly. His color rose as he recog- 
nized the pleasant tones of Mr. Eexford. He 
had scanned the audience anxiously during the 
evening, wondering if the man to whom he owed 
so much had been present at the exercises. He 
could not know that Mr. Eexford had learned 
beforehand from Mr. Keene that he, Harry 
Harding, had been chosen for the honor of de- 
livering the welcome address. The book-buyer 
had lingered in the hall just long enough to 
hear the boy’s earnest little speech, then re- 
tired to his office to write letters. The task had 
taken him longer than he had expected, and he 
had left the store just in time to encounter the 
little group standing on the corner. 


COMMENCEMENT 


255 


‘‘Oh, Mr. Kexford! I^m so glad you happened 
to come this way!’’ cried Harry, extending his 
hand to meet that of his employer. “I tried to 
see you this afternoon to say good-bye, but 
couldn’t find you. I looked for you in the audi- 
ence tonight, too, but I didn’t see you. This is 
my mother, and Mrs. Burke, and my chum, 
Theodore Burke. ” Harry welcomed the oppor- 
tunity of presenting his dear ones to the man 
he so greatly respected and admired. 

“Allow me to congratulate you on your son, 
Mrs. Harding, ’ ’ were Mr. Bexf ord ’s first words 
after acknowledging the introduction. 

“Thank you, Mr. Bexford.” Mrs. Harding’s 
brown eyes shone in appreciation of this praise 
of her boy. Although Harry still kept the 
secret of those dark days, long since passed, 
locked in his heart, she had daily heard him 
voice his gratitude for Mr. Eexford’s interest 
in him. ‘ ‘ I must thank you, also, for your good- 
ness to Harry,” she added. 

“I consider myself fortunate in having him 
in my department. I wish he weTe^my son,” 
smiled the buyer. Then he bade them a kindly 
good night and walked on, leaving a happy- 
faced quartette behind him. 

“Here^s our car,” called Teddy. “Come on. 
Mother. Good-bye, Martin Brothers. I’ll see 
you after vacation.” He waved his hand at 
the huge building which had sheltered and 
schooled the two boys and which held the prom- 


256 BARRY HARBINQ ^MESSENGER ‘^45*^ 


ise of a future for them both far greater than 
they could then dream or know. 

Yet Harry and Teddy knew only too well that 
in order to become successful business men 
they must, as boys, lay a sure foundation on 
which to build their careers. They must be 
ready to greet each day with a smile and live it 
for all it was worth. To do the little things 
cheerfully and well, in the hope of greater 
things to come was to be their watchword. The 
story of their return to Martin Brothers’ store 
after their hard-earned vacation, and what be- 
fell them on the field of duty, remains yet to be 
told. 

Those who have followed the two lads through 
their first year as business boys will meet them 
once more and learn just what happened to 
them next in the second volume of this series, 
‘‘Habby Habding’s Yeab of Pbomisb.” 


THE END 







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